A pair of Democrats joined forces for a meet-and-greet event in Emporia on Saturday.
Mark Remmert is seeking the Kansas House 13th District seat currently held by Republican Duane Droge, while Juan Luengo is running for State Treasurer against Republican Steven Johnson.
Remmert says lawmakers have 2 basic responsibilities.
Even more so than property tax relief, data centers have dominated the political discussion at both the state and local levels since the 2026 legislative session ended this past spring. Remmert says decisions on data center need to be made at the local level, but state representatives need to be ready.
The State Treasurer’s Office doesn’t get the attention of other state agencies, like Attorney General, Commerce or Revenue, but Luengo says it’s vitally important because it distributes all the state tax revenue where it’s supposed to go. He says his 20 years of experience in risk management, not a person’s political affiliation, will matter to him if he’s elected.
Luengo plans to overhaul the department’s technology and add more bilingual staff. He also wants to create a special economic advisory council.
With the general election less than 2 months away, KVOE News will interview Remmert as part of a Candidate Profile on October 6. Droge has not responded to a KVOE News request for a Candidate Forum interview.
In addition, KVOE News will have a Candidate Forum on October 8 featuring Kansas House 60th District incumbent Mark Schreiber, a Republican, and Democrat challenger Maddison Glover. The KVOE News Candidate Forum involving Kansas House 76th District hopefuls Democrat David Claridge and Republican Russel Stukey will be October 13.
Kansas Spanish Speakers, meanwhile, has set up a Candidate Listening Forum at 6:30 pm October 7 at the Emporia Recreation Center. In a twist from the regular forum setting, candidates will rotate around a set of tables involving community members offering their thoughts, issues, experiences and concerns as part of the event.
