Candidates and staff of the secretary of state's office fill Memorial Hall. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)Dozens of candidates for the Kansas Legislature packed the secretary of state’s office today (MON) to file for the fall election. They descended on the office to beat a noon deadline. Stephen Foster, from Roeland Park, is running for the Kansas House for the first time. He says the fact that his local seat was open encouraged him to take the plunge.
The final hours before the deadline were much busier than normal, because of the late decision in the redistricting process. Federal judges didn’t release the redistricting maps until late Thursday night, giving candidates only a few days to file paperwork. Around 350 candidates are running for the Kansas House and Senate.