Joy Koesten, the former Republican state representative who switched parties after losing to current House member Kellie Warren in a 2018 primary, this week filed to run for the District 11 seat in the state Senate.
Koesten emailed supporters letting them know that she had submitted signatures with the secretary of state’s office on Tuesday with the intent of filing by petition.
Senate District 11 mostly covers the Blue Valley area, but does include a portion north of I-435 between Metcalf and State Line Road. The seat is currently held by Republican John Skubal, the former member of the Overland Park City Council who defeated incumbent Jeff Melcher in the 2016 primary. Skubal is not currently listed on the Johnson County Election Office website as having filed for re-election. (We emailed him Thursday with an invitation to comment for this story. We’ll update the piece if we hear back).
In her announcement email, Koesten detailed her motivations for running.
- Access to affordable healthcare and the right to make our own healthcare decisions.
- A modern, workable tax system that works for all of us, not just some of us.
- Continued investment in education at all levels.
- Property tax and sales tax relief.
- Sensible gun laws
Koesten announced her switch to affiliation with the Democrats in December 2018, part of a wave of moderate Republicans who decided to leave the party.
