TOPEKA — State Sen. Marci Francisco and Rep. John Wilson, both Democrats from Lawrence, have both filed re-election.

Francisco filed Monday, shortly after the 2016 Legislature adjourned, to seek a third term representing the 2nd Senate District, which includes nearly all of Lawrence north of 23rd Street, portions of northern Douglas County and parts of Jefferson County.

She’ll be favored in the largely Democratic district, which Barack Obama carried with more than 60 percent of the vote in 2008 and 2012. But she will face a challenge in the general election from Meredith Richey, of Perry, who is making her first run for public office.

Richey got an early start in the race. Since filing in January, she has been showing up regularly at Republican events, such as the GOP state convention in February, and at polling places during the March 5 Republican caucuses.

Wilson, who filed last week, is seeking his third term representing the 10th House District, which includes the south end of Lawrence, Baldwin City, and parts of three townships in southern Douglas County.

So far, no other candidates have filed in that district, which also leans heavily Democratic.

The only members of the Douglas County delegation who have not filed so far are Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, and Rep. Boog Highberger, of Lawrence. Both have indicated they intend to file. Also, neither of them has so far drawn a challenger.

Elsewhere in Kansas, though, several lawmakers have announced they will not run in 2016, or at least won’t run for the seat they currently have.

Leading the list is House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, who is finishing his second term as speaker, the traditional term limit for the top leader in the House. It’s not known yet who will try to replace him next year, but a list of usual suspects would normally include the majority leader, who is Rep. Jene Vickrey of Louisburg, and the speaker pro tem, who is Rep. Peggy Mast, of Emporia.

Also, a few speakers in recent years have risen there from the office of Appropriations Committee chairman, which is currently Rep. Ron Ryckman Jr., of Olathe, who received praise from both sides of the aisle for his hard work, if not the final product, steering the committee through a number of particularly difficult issues this year.

Three candidates — one Democrat and two Republicans — have filed to run for Merrick’s 27th District seat.

The other significant House retirement from Johnson County this year is Rep. John Rubin, R-Shawnee, who was unceremoniously removed by Merrick this year as chairman of the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee.

Meanwhile, Sedgwick County is certain to see a lot of change in its legislative delegation this year. So far, the list of members who’ve announced they’re not running again include Republican Reps. Dennis Hedke, Mark Kahrs and Mark Hutton, as well as Senate tax committee chairman Les Donovan.

Donovan, who turns 80 this week, had threatened to resign last year out of frustration during the record-breaking 114-day session that got bogged down over tax issues. He came back from the ledge then, but there was no convincing him to run again this year.

Hedke may be best remembered as the chairman of the House Energy and Environment Committee who rejects the science of climate change. He suffered a major emotional loss last year when, during the 2015 session, his wife of 37 years, Annette, died after being struck by a vehicle in a grocery store parking lot.

Kahrs is not so much stepping out of the Legislature as he is stepping up in politics. In February, he was named the Kansas Republican Party’s new national committeeman. Hutton did not offer a specific reason for leaving, but he has been an outspoken critic of Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax policies and likely would have been targeted with a postcard campaign from conservative groups, a campaign tactic he disparaged in a 2015 op-ed piece in the Wichita Eagle.

Former Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Republican who served in the House from 1995 to 2012, has announced she will run for Hutton’s seat.

Another Wichita-area legislator, Republican Sen. Michael O’Donnell, is reportedly considering stepping down to run for Sedgwick County Commission. He was a beneficiary of outside spending during the 2012 GOP primaries, taking out moderate Republican Sen. Jean Schodorf, in a concerted effort by Brownback and his political allies to put conservatives in control of the Senate.

This year, Democrats and moderate Republicans hope to take back some of the ground they lost four years ago.

Rep. Jerry Henry, R-Atchison, has announced he plans to run against first-term GOP Sen. Dennis Pyle, of Hiawatha. And moderate Rep. John Doll, R-Garden City, has filed to run against Sen. Larry Powell, the conservative who unseated former Senate President Steve Morris, of Hugoton, in the 2012 conservative takeover.