Topeka ? Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab says he plan to run for Kansas secretary of state.

Schwab, of Olathe, announced his campaign Wednesday, saying he wants to improve how the state implements its election laws.

He said his experience as speaker pro tem of the Kansas House of Representatives and as previous chairman of the elections and insurance committees makes him qualified for the secretary of state’s office.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Schwab says he isn’t interested in rolling back tough Kansas voting laws supported by current Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Schwab said he and his wife decided early last year that he would run in 2018 but that move was delayed after their son, Caleb, died on a water slide at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, Kan., last summer.