Political newcomer Noah Erichsen of Ellsworth debated incumbent State Rep. Troy Waymaster, (R-Bunker Hill) for almost two hours Sunday before a packed crowd at the Ellsworth Steak House.

The two Republicans are running for the District 109 seat in the Kansas House of Representatives. Voters will make their decision during the Aug. 2 primary election. The winner will face Libertarian candidate Peter Solie of Lorraine during the Nov. 8 general election.

A variety of topics were covered during the forum, which was sponsored by the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter. They ranged from abortion to rural economic development to funding for special education and gun control.

Linda Mowery-Denning, I-R senior writer, moderated the debate.

Here are a few of the topics and the candidates answers:

Abortion Waymaster — “I am pro-life,” he said. “I do say there needs to be extenuating circumstances, especially with rape, incest and for the health of the mother. But I firmly contend that we should not use abortion as a form of birth control.”

Waymaster said he is not in favor of a full abortion ban.

Erichsen — “I stand pretty much the same on abortion,” he said. “I think we need to legislate in a pro-life way, because we need our compassion again. It’s not as black and white as a yes or no vote. We have to remember there are other circumstances as Rep. Waymaster already said — rape, incest, health of the mother. My biggest thing is abortion should not be used as a form of contraceptive. That is where we need to look before people have sex and provide those contraceptives. I am not in favor of a full abortion ban either.”

Rural development Waymaster — Waymaster said when he became the House appropriations chairman in 2017, one of the first things the committee approved was the restoration of funding for the Main Street Program, which was cut by former Gov. Sam Brownback.

“That was a program that helped rural communities promote their downtown areas,” Waymaster said. “It also helped with renovation of buildings.”

Waymaster said in 2022, nearly $100 million was dedicated to rural housing needs across Kansas due to the surplus in the state budget as well as the $1.6 million received from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Erichsen — “The Main Street Program was very fortunate,” Erichsen said. “I thank Rep. Waymaster for putting that back in the budget, because that is such an integral part of selling communities.”

Erichsen said Ellsworth and Russell are doing great things with the program. He noted, however, the program targets towns that are too big.

“We need to target towns 4,000 and under,” he said. “Be it Osborne, Smith Center and Lincoln, especially.”

Erichsen described economic development as a “massive circle.”

“You bring the jobs, but we don’t have the houses for people to come and work,” he said. “How do we get the people to bring their factories in — the entrepreneurs to come in — if we don’t have that base?”

Erichsen said economic development doesn’t only mean bringing people in. It also means looking at housing — making sure necessities are available, such as grocery stores.

Erichsen said if he is successful in winning the seat, he wants to look at how we get those businesses and people here.

“Right now, I don’t think District 109 is being marketed correctly on the state level,” he said. “Child care is another massive part of economic development.”

Erichsen said we need to look at how to help people that provide child care services.

“Regulations are too hard,” he said. “We need to look at how we help our rural communities rather than Johnson County.”

Erichsen said flexibility is essential at the state level.

Waymaster said Ellsworth and Russell Counties have been experiencing a population decline for a long time.

“How do we address that,” he asked. “Obviously, we have incentives at the state level, the Department of Commerce, to try to entice businesses to come into rural areas in the state.”

Waymaster said there are a lot of needs that must be addressed regarding rural development.

“We have a value of life here that needs to be preserved,” he said.

Medicaid expansion Erichsen – “I am an advocate for KanCare expansion,” he said. “Because we are losing federal dollars, hundreds of millions every single year and how many people that would help in these five counties. House and Senate leadership won’t consider this. That is wrong in my opinion. We’ve lost our compassion at the state level because people are hurting. When are we going to stand up and say we’re going to help again?”

Waymaster — “There has never been a KanCare expansion bill that has made it out of the health and human services committee in the House or the Senate,” he said.

“Obviously, Kansas is one of 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid, and so right now, the state of Kansas is being dangled a carrot by the federal government of approximately $400 million to expand Medicaid.”

Waymaster said while hospitals in rural Kansas will benefit from such an expansion, they won’t as much as larger hospitals in Kansas will.

“Something like this has to go through the committee process,” he said.

Principles vs. party Erichsen — “I would vote with my mind and with my district, because what they are doing up there right now is not working. We’re not about limited government anymore. We’re not about our principles. And if I get elected at 20 years old, I’m not about to sit there for the rest of my life and vote with party leadership and that was the wrong thing to do. I can assure all of you that I will be doing the right thing. I may get kicked off my committees, but at the end of the day, I will have done the right thing and I can come back to my district and I can tell you that.”

Waymaster — “Actually, I have stood against leadership in the past,” he said.

Waymaster said in 2015, the house leadership wanted to make a stand in regards to K-12 education by passing a block grant funding bill.

The bill would have eliminated increases to K-12 education for two years.

“I had grave concerns about that bill,” he said. The day of the debate and the vote on the House floor, the speaker urged Waymaster to vote for the bill.

Waymaster told him he could not do so because it was not good for his district.

“He respected my decision,” Waymaster said.

Asked if he was worried about losing his chairmanship, Waymaster responded that the people of the 109th District did not send him to the state house for a chairmanship.

“They sent me to represent them,” Waymaster said. “And so I voted no when we had the debate, I voted no when we went to final action and I am still proud that I stood my ground and voted no on that particular bill.”

Armed teachers Erichsen — “I do not have a hard line stance on this. I would have to see evidence for both ways.”

Waymaster — “If a teacher wants to be armed, they should be,” he said. “For their protection and the protection of their students.”

Gun control in Kansas Waymaster — “I would say with the current makeup of the legislature, you’re not going to have any gun control bills or legislation that is going to be introduced.”

Waymaster said he is a member and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association. He also said he has a record of protecting the Second Amendment rights for the residents of Kansas.

“They (gun control bills) may be introduced by the other party, but I don’t see any gun control measures coming before the House or the Senate,” he said.

Erichsen — “Everyone has a right to carry and bear arms,” Erichsen said.

Erichsen said he would like to see a more common sense approach.

He said red flag laws are difficult because false accusations may lead to an infringement of rights.

“I do think we need to have an actual conversation about the Second Amendment because there are shootings happening, but right now it’s so polarized we won’t even look at it.”

He suggested that instead of taking possession of the firearm the day of purchase, the buyer could be required to wait 25 days after the background check to pick the firearm up.

“Some stop gap like that is common sense,” Erichsen said.

Special ed funding Waymaster — “The Kansas Supreme Court says we have to provide an adequate education for all students, whether they are in special education or not,” he said. “The chairperson of the K-12 budget committee will argue that we’re fully funding special education. And I sit right next to her on the House floor and I disagree with her on that. We need to put more money into special education. Especially in rural areas.”

Erichsen — He said the problem with special education is that since the 1970s it is supposed to be funded at 91 percent, but is currently funded at 71 percent.

“Why do we have a chairperson on our public education committee that is refusing to put up and fund special education correctly?” he asked. “We need to fully fund that over 91 percent in my opinion.”