U.S. Rep. Jenkins, state Sen. Holland draw challengers
An Ottawa school board member has filed as a Democrat to challenge Republican Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins of Topeka.
Britani Potter filed paperwork with the secretary of state’s office Wednesday. In a Facebook post April 29 announcing her plans, she said she wants to be “a voice for the often underrepresented members of society.”
Potter’s Facebook profile indicates that she attended Ottawa High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baker University. She and her husband, David, have three children.
She is the second Democrat to file in that race. Mike Pryor, a Lawrence Democrat, filed in April. Pryor is a retired teacher and volunteer at Just Food, and was an active supporter of Bernie Sanders leading up to the March 5 Democratic caucuses in Kansas.
Jenkins was first elected to the U.S. House in 2008 and now serves as vice chair of the House Republican Conference. She was re-elected to her fourth term in 2014, winning 57 percent of the vote.
The 2nd District covers most of eastern Kansas outside the Kansas City metropolitan area. It includes Lawrence, Topeka, Atchison and most of southeast Kansas.
Meanwhile, Echo Van Meteren, wife of longtime Kansas Republican strategist Chris Van Meteren, filed Wednesday to run as a Republican against Democratic State Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City.
Van Meteren, who lives in Linwood, is a project manager for Luminous Neon Art and Sign Systems Inc., in Lawrence and Olathe. She and her husband have three children.
Holland has served two terms in the Senate. He first won the seat in 2008 over an incumbent Republican, Roger Pine. He then faced Republican Rep. Anthony Brown in 2012 and won that race, 53-47 percent.
The 3rd Senate District leans Democratic. In the 2014 gubernatorial race, Democrat Paul Davis carried the district with 56 percent of the vote. But Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney carried it in 2012 with 51 percent.