Now the formal battle to succeed state Sen. Sandy Praeger can begin.

The Lawrence Republican, elected Nov. 5 to become the next Kansas Insurance Commissioner, said Tuesday she would resign her Senate seat Jan. 12, the day before being sworn in to succeed governor-elect Kathleen Sebelius as the state’s top insurance regulator.

Praeger sent her formal resignation letter Tuesday to Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, who is expected by week’s end to notify area Republican leaders about the pending vacancy.

Once notified, the Douglas County Republican Central Committee must call a “convention” to select a replacement senator within seven to 21 days. Chris Miller, committee chairman, said he expected to gather the 94 precinct committee members who work in Praeger’s Senate district to vote sometime during the first week of December.

Nominations will be taken from the floor, and :quot; to comply with state law :quot; the Republicans will not be able to choose by proxy.

“You have to be present to vote,” he said.

Two Republicans have announced their intentions to serve the remaining two years of Praeger’s term: state Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence; and Mark Buhler, an executive with Stephens Real Estate and former Douglas County commissioner.

“Both of them have worked hard, and both of them think they have enough support,” said Praeger, first elected to the Senate in 1992. “I don’t think I could predict a winner right now.”

Praeger said she decided to resign her seat Jan. 12 so she could cut down on transition headaches. By staying on the state payroll, she can stay enrolled in the state’s retirement plan and retain uninterrupted state health insurance coverage.

“From a state paperwork perspective, it’s a lot easier for everybody,” Praeger said. “It would be stupid for me, as the state insurance commissioner, to not have health insurance.”

As insurance commissioner, the former Lawrence mayor will earn a salary of $75,000, manage 160 employees, operate on a $20 million budget and oversee a $10 billion-a-year industry.

Among her goals once the Legislature convenes Jan. 13:

l Propose legislation to authorize state licensing of pharmacy benefit managers, who devise coverage plans for consumers’ prescription drugs. Praeger wants to be sure such managers or companies are solvent, so that customers aren’t left without coverage if a manager goes bankrupt.

l Review insurance companies’ increasing reliance on credit scoring as a means of judging a consumer’s insurability. “We’ll want to look at some consumer protections in that area,” she said.