Leavenworth prosecutor, state lawmaker weighing runs for Congress as LaTurner exits
U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner’s sudden announcement Thursday that he won’t seek reelection upended the race for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, with Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson and Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft both weighing a candidacy.
“I appreciate what Jake’s done. I really am going to have to look into it. I think I’m surprised as a lot of people that it’s happened and just haven’t even had time to process it,” Thompson told The Star.
Thompson, who is up for reelection as county attorney this year, has been the county attorney since 2009, said the next member of Congress needs to continue to work on building up the economy and getting industries and people into the district. He also spoke about the damage of fentanyl, saying stronger criminal penalties are needed.
Thompson said he needs to speak with his family to determine whether the time would be right for a campaign. He also said he would weigh his current job and community, adding that “I do love what I do.”
Croft, who publicly lists an Overland Park, doesn’t appear to live in 2nd District, which spans much of eastern Kansas. U.S. House members are not required to live in the districts they represent.
“I have dedicated my life to public service with 30 years of military service, two deployments to the Middle East, and six years in the legislature. Connie and I are prayerfully considering whether or not a run for Congress would be the best way to continue that public service and fight for conservative wins in Kansas,” Croft, a retired Army colonel, said in a statement.
The 2nd District last had a wide open race in 2018, when 10 Republican candidates ran in a primary won by Steve Watkins, who went on to win the general election. Two years later, LaTurner defeated the scandal-plagued Watkins in a primary challenge.
“My expectation is that there’s a long list,” Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said. “While he did tell me that he was not running again, no one has called to tell me they’re running yet.”
Minutes later Croft announced he is considering a campaign. Thompson returned a call from The Star a few minutes after that.
The list of potential candidates is long. Other names already circulating in GOP circles on Thursday afternoon included former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and LaTurner staffer Jeff Kahrs. State Sens. Dennis Pyle and Caryn Tyson have also previously run for Congress.
Mike Kuckelman, a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, said most people believed LaTurner would run again. He said the news caught him by surprise.
“So I imagine there are people scrambling now to kick the tires. But what will be interesting to see is how many of those actually jump in the race,” Kuckelman said.
Whoever emerges from the primaries will be campaigning amid a turbulent presidential election featuring former President Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket. Trump is currently on trial over allegations he falsified business records in New York, leaving open the possibility the Republican ticket will be led by someone convicted of a felony.
Still, the 2nd District under LaTurner has been solidly Republican. The congressman won reelection in 2022 by a 15-point margin. As recently as 2018, Watkins nearly lost to Democrat Paul Davis, defeating the Lawrence lawyer by less than one point.
Kansas lawmakers redrew the district in 2022 to exclude Lawrence – a major concentration of Democratic voters. No Democrats are currently running for the seat, after the only announced candidate, Eli Woody, suspended his campaign last month.
Woody is now running for a Kansas House seat. In an email on Thursday, Woody said he doesn’t think LaTurner’s decision wouldn’t change much about the race.
“Huge sums of money went to Mr. LaTurner from groups like those funded by Mr. Koch; I suspect that will stay the case for whomever steps in to run in November as his Republican replacement,” Woody wrote, referring to the Wichita-based libertarian-leaning political mega-donor Charles Koch.
“We must do whatever we can, wherever we can, to end this disgusting trend in our politics.”
Steve Fitzgerald, a former Republican state senator from Leavenworth who ran for Congress in 2018, laughed when The Star asked if he had interest in running again. He said that the question is whether any groups or organizations will get behind a particular candidate, leading others to back away.
“But I have no idea of who or what or when,” Fitzgerald said. “Other than that, it’s going to be sandlot baseball.”
