TOPEKA — A former Kansas state senator who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006 is running again for the office next year.

Topeka physician Jim Barnett said Friday that he will kick off his campaign for the GOP nomination Tuesday in his hometown and have events in eight other cities over two days.

Barnett served a decade in the Senate as an Emporia resident, starting in 2001. He lost the 2006 governor’s race to Democratic incumbent Kathleen Sebelius.

He also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District of central and western Kansas in 2010.

Barnett is joining a hotly contested race to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Wichita businessman Wink Hartman are also seeking the Republican nomination.