A June wreck involving state Senate candidate John Eplee of Atchison has emerged over the weekend in the increasingly intense race for Senate District 1 where Republican Dennis Pyle is seeking reelection.
Republican candidate Craig Bowser sent mass text messages highlighting the wreck that Eplee – a state representative – was involved in on June 3 when his vehicle crossed the center line while heading eastbound on U.S. 73 in Atchison County.
The messages came with the Aug. 6 primary right around the corner.
The Atchison Globe reported that Eplee’s vehicle struck a 2004 Chevrolet pickup driven by Deryck Claxton, 17, of Atchison, who was westbound on U.S. 73.
It also hit a 2006 silver Chevrolet Impala driven by Quinton Claxton, 18, of Effingham, according to the Globe’s Account. Another report indicated the crash occurred at about 9 p.m. on June 3.
The father of the two teens involved in the crash has been angry over the fact that local sheriff’s officers didn’t conduct a field sobriety test of everyone involved in the crash and has openly expressed his frustration on Facebook.
Steve Claxton had posted on Facebook that he suspected that sobriety tests were not conducted because a lawmaker was involved in the crash.
He said in an interview Sunday that sheriff’s deputies told him the night of the crash the tests were not warranted because they didn’t smell alcohol and “nobody was acting out of the ordinary.”
Eplee was cited with a traffic violation in connection with the crash and he paid a $183 fine, according to Atchison County court records.
Ten days after the crash, Eplee explained it this way to KSNT.
“I must have had a period of where I wasn’t mentally present. Either, I fell asleep at the wheel or I had a blackout spell,” Eplee said.
“And, I went left of center and I hit a vehicle. And, then the other vehicle was also struck behind that,” he said.
The new text messages use posts that the father of the two teens made on Facebook questioning why a sobriety test wasn’t done.
Claxton, said he didn’t authorize the Bowser campaign to use the ads.
Claxton has posted on Facebook that he supports Pyle in the Senate race, although he said in an interview that he didn’t know who he would vote for on Election Day.
Claxton said he has a Pyle election sign in his front yard.
“I’ve been harassed all day by people on Facebook about this mass text that went out (Saturday) that I did not send,” Claxton said in an interview.
Claxton said he’s been telling people to look at the paid-for disclaimer in the ad, which is barely visible at the top of a crash photo in the text.
The paid-for message is in grey type set against a dark background in the photo of the crash on June 3.
“It did not come from my phone number. I did not sign anything. I did not give permission for anybody to send a text like that out,” he said.
“I had never heard of a Craig Bowser, Bowers until (Saturday) when I found out he sent the mass text out,” he said.
Bowser did not respond to a text message seeking comment early Sunday.
Eplee slammed the ad with his own text message on Saturday, calling it the “most horrendous smear in the history of Kansas politics.”
“Craig Bowser knows that isn’t true,” Eplee said.
“He sees the incredible response my campaign is getting from voters and has resorted to fabricating mistruths in a despicable attempt to steal the election. It is shameful.”
The race has been escalating with three candidates – Pyle, Eplee and Bowser – spending about $330,000 combined.
Eplee has put $60,000 of his own money into the Senate race while Bowser has loaned his campaign $65,000.
There are at least four different outside groups involved in the campaign from different sides, including the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Truth Caucus, Kansas Family Voice and Americans for Prosperity.
The Bowser text messages came after Eplee launched new mail attacks targeting Bowser for support he has received from Americans for Prosperity using posts that former President Donald Trump made criticizing the group.
The ad uses a post from Trump’s Truth Social platform referring to AFP as “Americans for Chinese Prosperity.” The ad criticizes Bowser as a “fake conservative.”
A second mail piece accused Bowser of wanting to send taxpayer dollars to Venezuela.
The attack is based on a book Bowser wrote in 2017 called “A Strategy for the United States to Engage and Contain Venezuela.”
Bowser has a doctorate in strategic security from the Henley Putnam School of Strategic Security, which is part of National American University.
The mailer doesn’t quote from the book but is based on what the book says, according to a spokesperson for the Eplee campaign.
“Craig Bowser and Joe Biden have a lot in common. Like their support for communist Venezuela,” the mailer said.
Bowser has not responded to requests from comment about the Eplee mail pieces.
