A former Shawnee city councilmember is running for the Republican nomination for Kansas’s Third Congressional District.
On Thursday, Eric Jenkins announced he is seeking the Republican nomination for Kansas’ Third U.S. House District to vie for the seat currently occupied by Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids.
“I’ve spent years serving my community locally, listening to residents, and working to solve problems. Now I’m ready to take that experience to Congress and fight for Kansas values,” he said in a press release.
There is currently one other Republican who has filed, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office: Chase LaPorte, a U.S. Army veteran and small business owner from Mission.
In an email accompanying his press release, Jenkins said he planned to officially file to run with the secretary of state’s office on Thursday afternoon. He did not immediately return a request for comment by the Johnson County Post.
Jenkins is retired Army officer and former councilmember
Jenkins is a retired colonel in the United States Army.
He spent 30 years with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and 28 years in Shawnee city government, including stints on the Shawnee Planning Commission and city council.
He served two terms on the city council, representing Ward 2, before losing his reelection bid in 2023 to current Councilmember Jeanie Murphy.
Jenkins’ Congressional platform focuses on fiscal responsibility, lowering taxes for families and Kansas businesses and strong border security and national defense, according to his campaign website.
“Kansans are looking for leadership that will stand up for working families, support law
enforcement, and put the interests of our communities ahead of Washington politics,” Jenkins said in his announcement.
In a response to survey questions from Ballotpedia, LaPorte, the other Republican who has filed to run in Kansas’ Third Congressional District, said his three key issues were lowering inflation, a balanced federal budget and backing Congressional term limits.
“Moving forward, I still seek to be the Republican nominee and head on to the general election,” he said to the Johnson County Post.
LaPorte took exception to Jenkins waiting close to the June 1 deadline to file for the primary.
“It’s very ill-prepared of him to do it at the 11th hour like this because he would lose the general election,” he said.
Davids faces an intraparty challenge
Davids earlier this month filed to run for a fifth term, casting herself as a check on “extremism” in Washington, D.C.
For the first time since being elected to Congress in 2018, Davids will have a primary challenger in Sarah Preu, a technology and communications specialist from Fairway.
Jenkins’ platform contrasts with Davids’ four terms in office, he stated in a press release.
“Sharice Davids spent years backing the Biden-Harris agenda that drove up costs,
weakened our economy, and failed to secure the border. Even now, she continues to oppose President Trump’s efforts to restore common sense, strengthen public safety, and put American families first. I’m running to fight for safer communities, lower costs, secure borders, and accountable government,” he stated.
The Kansas primary election will be held on Aug. 4 to determine who will get each party’s nomination and advance to November’s general election.
