A Saline County farmer and teacher announced Monday his bid for the 69th District Kansas House seat.
In a news release to media and on social media, Ryan Holmquist announced that he is running for the seat currently held by Rep. J.R. Claeys. Former Kansas Governor John Carlin is serving as Holmquist's campaign treasurer.
Holmquist, 37, is a lifelong Kansan and farms on his family's original 151-year-old Saline County homestead. Holmquist was educated in Kansas public schools and earned degrees from Bethany College and the University of Kansas. In addition to owning and operating the family farm, Holmquist has been a teacher at Salina Central High School for the past 12 years.
“As a public school teacher,” Holmquist said, “I’ve seen first hand how extremist political experiments hurt our kids and threaten our community’s future. We need to get back to the basics of reducing the cost of healthcare, making sure each kid has a great education that opens up opportunity, and creating a fair tax system which starts with reducing the tax on food, not giving tax breaks to giant multinational corporations.”
In the release, Holmquist noted that as a fifth-generation Saline County farmer, he has "watched family farms go into foreclosure as career politicians cater to big money special interests instead of working families. Holmquist said he believes "the community deserves someone at the table in Topeka who serves the people of Saline County, not political parties or big donors."
“My family has been here through a century and a half of highs and lows. We’ve survived floods that nearly took us off the map, but now the biggest threat comes from political extremism that threatens our schools, our hospitals, our safety, and our quality of life. There are many issues facing the 69th district, and solving them begins with electing a Representative that fights for working families,” Holmquist said.