(Updated to include more details from meeting)
Johnson County Republicans on Wednesday night picked former state insurance commissioner candidate Beverly Gossage as their nominee for Senate District 9.
Precinct committee leaders chose Gossage over former Kansas House candidate Wendy Bingesser, former Lt. Gov. Dave Owen and Gardner attorney Glenn Stockton.
After two rounds of balloting, Gossage prevailed as the winner over Bingesser, 43 to 27.
On the first ballot, Gossage led the field of candidates with 32 votes followed by Bingesser with 16, Stockton with 11 and Owen with 11.
The last two candidates – Owen and Stockton – were dropped and Bingesser and Gossage advanced to a second round of balloting.
During speeches and a 30-minute question-and-answer session, each of the four candidates sounded similar conservative themes on guns, spending, Medicaid expansion and abortion with little daylight between them.
Gossage replaces state Sen. Julia Lynn, who abruptly withdrew from the race citing a medical hardship related to her sister.
Gossage said she had Lynn’s support in her bid for the Senate.
She now faces Democrat Stacey Knoell, who has been campaigning since last year and has raised a little more than $50,000 for the entire election cycle.
The contest played out at a precinct committee meeting at the VFW in De Soto attended by many prominent local Republicans, including House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. and state Sen. Molly Baumgardner, among others.
The newly minted nominee came to the precinct meeting with signs and decals already printed, signaling her confidence at winning the nomination.
“Ready to rock n’ roll,” Gossage said after the meeting. “We’re going to walk every door.
“I’ve been in this district for 42 years,” she said. “There are a lot of people that know me who are Republicans.”
Gossage is the owner of HSA Benefits Consulting, which specializes in helping businesses and individuals find affordable health insurance, including health savings accounts.
Six years ago, Gossage ran for state insurance commissioner, finishing second in a five-way race won by Ken Selzer.
An opponent of the Afforable Care Act, Gossage has been a research fellow for the Show-Me Institute, a free-market think tank based in St. Louis.
Like the other three candidates seeking the nomination, Gossage is opposed to expanding Medicaid and opposes red-flag laws for guns.
She was praised as a supporter of gun rights, an ardent opponent of abortion and a fiscal conservative.
