A central Kansas legislator announced Friday morning he will not seek re-election this year.
104th District State Representative Paul Waggoner (R-Hutchinson) said in a statement “My decision is driven by growing personal and professional needs but I plan on remaining active in politics. I have been asked repeatedly to help with political issues at the local level. I will also be working to insure we have a Republican residing at Cedar Crest in 2027 and that the voters, rather than the political insiders, will be deciding all future members of the Kansas Supreme Court.”
Rep. Waggoner added it has been a genuine honor to serve the people of the 104th District and be their voice in Topeka for the past eight years, adding their willingness to repeatedly send him back by ever increasing margins is humbling. “As a native son of the 104th District, I knew instinctively that a common sense conservative on both fiscal and social issues is the true political heart of this district,” he added.
Waggoner, who is involved with a family-owned business which manufactures pew cushions, was first elected in 2018 when he defeated then-Representative Steve Becker by nine votes in the Republican primary. Most recently he has been Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Elections and has been on the House Federal and State Affairs, Higher Education Budget, Insurance, and Administrative Rules and Regulations Committee.
According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, Waggoner had filed for re-election to the House last August. According to their candidate list as of Friday morning, there have been no other filings for the 104th District. The filing deadline for this year’s elections is June 1st.
