Kansas Republicans have an opportunity to select which candidate they wish to see on the ballot for the November general election. The primary election is Aug. 6.

The I-R made every reasonable effort to reach candidates running for the 33rd Senate District and the U.S. House 1st District. Candidates are listed alphabetically.

Kansas State Senate District 33 Tory Marie Blew Candidate did not respond.

John Sturn Tell us about yourself.

I grew up on a dairy and wheat farm in Ellsworth County north of Bushton. I graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in mechanical engineering. I spent my career in the natural gas pipeline business as an engineer and in field operations management. I worked for Northern Natural Gas in Great Bend, Omaha and Bushton and for Kansas Gas Service in Pratt.

My wife Tammy was a special education teacher. We raised our family in Ellinwood.

I have been active in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, youth religion classes and church groups, kids’ rec league coaching and in my church. I have served on the boards of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Great Bend Community Theatre and as a Barton County Economic Development Planning Team member.

What is your political experience?

I am in my eleventh year on the Ellinwood School Board.

What are some of the biggest issues facing Kansas right now? How can you help us in Topeka?

The biggest issues are our schools, our taxes and who our government serves. Too often, on the issues of our schools and our taxes, our Legislature serves lobbyists ahead of regular Kansans. I will vote for our common interests of our schools and rural communities.

Politics is growing more polarized. How can you work with members of both parties toward solutions for all Americans?

One of the best parts of my service on our local school board is practicing good governance. We depend on each other’s judgements and knowledge to provide the best experience we can for our students and staff. This is probably too fanciful, but it would be great for the Legislature to have Lobbyist-Free Fridays. Kansans can work together when we concentrate simply on the constituents we serve.

Rural America is shrinking. How can we help revitalize rural parts of our state?

The general approach will most likely be to expand existing efforts. This expansion should be part of the structure of future budgets to accommodate these efforts. For example, the Kansas Housing Resource Center’s annual budget was only $2 million. With COVID stimulus money, it increased to $20 million. With the end of the stimulus money, the budget was set at $15 million.

We are facing a potentially devastating drought. What can be done to help our farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers? Additionally, how can we preserve water so future generations don’t face issues like Caney is?

Most of the government policy for agriculture is done at the federal level. At the state level, the focus should be to avoid making agriculture more difficult. In taxation, we should reduce reliance on property tax.

The budget surplus was an opportunity to provide Kansans with property tax relief, but legislators chose to provide seven times more benefit for income tax reduction than for property tax reduction in this year’s tax law.

For water issues, I would continue the emphasis on local solutions that maximize the economic viability of our farmers and rural communities.

Another struggle for rural Kansas is health care. In some of our communities, hospitals are closing. Doctors and medical providers are moving away from rural areas toward more population- dense locations. What can be done to help keep health care and essential medical services viable in rural Kansas?

There are struggles, but also success stories, in rural health care. Hospital administrators have told me that improvements that benefit our rural communities in general benefit our medical facilities in the same way. The efforts to improve housing, childcare and small-town quality of life strengthen our medical providers.

U. S. House of Representatives, Kansas 1st District Eric Bloom Candidate did not respond.

Tracey Mann Tell us about yourself.

I am a fifth-generation Kansan. My family, on both sides, has farmed and fed cattle in western Kansas for more than 120 years. I was raised on our family farm just south of Quinter in the house my great-great grandfather ordered from the Montgomery Ward catalog in the early 1900s.

Like most Kansans in my part of the country, I worked in the fields and in my family’s cattle feed lot from a young age while also being involved in 4-H and FFA. I played 8-man football and am passionate about keeping our rural communities strong.

My upbringing led me to obtain a degree in agricultural economics from Kansas State University, the first landgrant university in the nation, created under the Morrill Act. I practiced commercial real estate and have a real understanding of the housing issues in rural areas across the state, and I served as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas. My wife Audrey and I and our four kids reside in Salina.

What is your political experience?

I served as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas and was sworn into the U.S. Congress in January 2021. I currently serve on the House Agriculture, House Transportation and Infrastructure and House Small Business Committees.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing our country right now?

How can you help work toward solutions?

We need to reduce and reprioritize government spending, secure the southern border and end the weaponization of the federal government.

Washington’s spending addiction has created massive inflation and increased our national debt to $33 trillion. $2.4 trillion of that debt has accrued over just the past 365 days. That’s more than $76,000 per second. We’re all feeling it, especially in middle America where new, costly regulations are forcing small businesses to close, gas is nearly $4 per gallon and people’s paychecks are overtaxed. House Republicans have offered common sense solutions to this problem. We passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act to stop wasting taxpayer dollars, reclaim unspent COVID relief money and promote pro-growth economic policies. We must stand firm in our commitment to reducing and reprioritizing government spending.

Meanwhile, our southern border is a humanitarian and national security crisis. We must secure the southern border. And, the Biden Administration is overseeing and directing an unprecedented weaponization of the federal government. House Republicans are constantly fighting back against overreaching government regulations that are hurting middle America. When government grows, freedom shrinks. We must unite behind solving these issues as our children’s future is on the chopping block.

What are some of the biggest issues facing Kansas right now? How can you help us in Washington?

The issues facing our nation are the issues facing Kansans — our southern border, skyrocketing inflation, the weaponization of our federal government, the federal government’s spending addiction and more. I did not come to Congress to be a caretaker in the slow demise of America. I came to fight and work to make it stronger. I outlined how I’m doing that in my Commitment to the Big First and will continue to fight for agriculture and our conservative Kansas values.

Politics is growing more polarized.

How can you work with members of both parties toward solutions for all Americans?

Last May, I hosted a Farm Bill listening session with more than 150 farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers and stakeholders on a wheat farm near Gypsum. People from a wide range of perspectives shared their thoughts about the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. While everyone had different viewpoints, we united because we care about American agriculture, we care about getting ag policy right and we want to see American farmers, ranchers and producers thrive. There was a picture of that unity right behind us in three combines hoisting American flags.

John Deere, Case and Gleaner — green, red and gray. When you grow up on a farm, you’re born into a loyalty to one of these trusted American brands.

They’re different, they have different styles and different features, but they are all designed to do the same thing — harvest. They’re designed to produce — to take months and months of hard work and effectively churn out a product.

Congress is no different. We all have different priorities and backgrounds, but we’re all here to do the same thing — harvest, work hard and effectively churn out a product. America deserves it, and Congress must deliver it.

Rural America is shrinking. How can we help revitalize rural parts of our state?

The Big First District of Kansas is one of the most rural districts in the country. Our rural way of life is not understood by all, but I believe it to be the heartbeat and pilot light of America. Hard work, faith and a sense of community are all alive and well there.

Congress must help communities like this not just survive, but thrive. We should provide quality access to rural broadband, promote low-cost and highquality childcare in rural communities and create incentives for local main street businesses. I am proud to cosponsor legislation that would do all of this and more as part of my service on the House Agriculture, House Transportation and Infrastructure and House Small Business committees.

We are in the middle of a terrible drought and the farm bill is plagued by delays. What can you do to help support our farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers?

Just last summer, drought and market conditions in Kansas caused producers to abandon the highest number of acres of wheat since World War I. Wheat farmers have seen a 35 percent decrease in production in the last year as a result. The reality is Mother Nature is a very difficult business partner. One bad crop year could put the livelihood of our producers and their families at risk. The House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill, that I was proud to vote for, gives these hardworking individuals more certainty by strengthening the farm safety net, adjusting reference prices and modernizing the Livestock Indemnity Program, dairy supports and Conservation Reserve Program.

Congress needs to pass the Farm Bill now and also recognize that Kansas agricultural producers are the original conservationists and the best stewards of their resources.