A candidate for Kansas Senate has released a 1,500-word statement written in jail that explains how he came to be charged with stalking a woman he met at a Lawrence bar.

The statement by Scott J. Barnhart of Ottawa, a candidate for the 12th Senate District, says he tried to give the woman “a fairy-tale ending” by buying a home and an engagement ring for her. Elsewhere in the letter, he writes that “there never was an us” and apologizes to his friends, family members and campaign supporters.

“(W)hen it comes to women, I am not much of a Don Juan or a Cassanova (sic), I am just a dumb country bumpkin right up there with Hoss Cartwright,” the letter says. “Maybe instead of going out and doing all of this I should have asked her if she really wanted it first.”

Barnhart, 31, a farmer and rancher, is running as a Republican for the seat being vacated by Robert Tyson, R-Parker.

“This probably blew my chances of winning now, but I concluded a long time ago some things are more important than winning,” the letter says.

Barnhart was arrested April 30 on a stalking warrant from Missouri.

The woman moved twice, according to the arrest warrant, and sought two orders of protection against Barnhart. His advances continued, despite the orders, the warrant says. He allegedly wrote hundreds of letters to the woman, professing his love for her.

Barnhart describes his statement as being written in the Franklin County Jail, but he writes that he was released after a judge lowered his bond from $100,000 to $15,000.

An update on the Missouri criminal case wasn’t available Tuesday.

Barnhart’s statement says he met the woman at 11:28 p.m. on April 13, 1999, while she was working at Sports Page Brewery and he was a teacher at Central Junior High School.

The letter says he’s trying to make it clear that the two have never had a relationship in part because he doesn’t want her to suffer repercussions from the “crooked frauds” — attorneys, bankers, insurance people and others — he’s done business with since his home flooded in March 2002.

The home is scheduled to be sold at a sheriff’s sale today, the letter says.

Barnhart responded to phone messages from the Journal-World with an e-mail confirming he had authored the statement, but he did not respond to other questions.