Kansas GOP Insider (wannabe): November 2017

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

A Return to Ray Merricka?

Ray Merrick has money in his campaign account, and he's bored. That's the answer Merrick gives when asked whether he'll run for the Kansas House in 2018.

Merrick, a Stillwell Republican, served from 2013 to 2017 as Speaker of the Kansas House. He didn't seek re-election in 2016. He was replaced in the House by Rep. Sean Tarwater, who in his first month in office voted for a retroactive tax increase. Tarwater would cast similar votes throughout the 2017 session, culminating in a veto override vote that ripped an extra $1.2 billion from taxpayers' wallets.

The seat, the 27th District,  is a decidely conservative one. His predecessors in the seat include former Reps. Phyllis Gilmore and Charlotte O'Hara.

Merrick's House campaign finance report filed in 2015 showed cash-on-hand of more than $100,000. Tarwater's last report showed $153 cash-on-hand.