House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer is running against a community member for a House seat from Wichita.
Democrats have won this seat in the last five elections. Christopher Parisho, the Republican challenger, has lost to Sawyer in the last two elections.
Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to register to vote. Early voting starts Oct. 16. You can find your polling place and the races you vote in here.
Who are the candidates in Kansas House District 95?
Republican Christopher Parisho
Parisho unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Wichita City Council and for this House district. Parisho has worked as a professional photographer and in the aircraft industry. He’s also spent time on Delano neighborhood groups and Wichita’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.
He is endorsed by Kansans for Life.
His campaign website is here.
Democrat Tom Sawyer (Incumbent)
Sawyer was first elected to the Kansas House in 1987, where he has served just about every year since. He has served as both majority leader when Democrats had control of the House and minority leader.
He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wichita State University.
Sawyer is endorsed by the Kansas branch of the AFL-CIO, the Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Rifle Association, the Kansas National Education Association and Game On for Kansas Schools.
His campaign website is here.
Neither candidate replied to the questionnaire. The Beacon has compiled information from campaign websites, voting histories and public statements to provide the most information to voters.
If you could pass any bill, what would it be and why?
Parisho: Parisho supports term limits for politicians. “My opponent in this race was first elected to the legislature in 1987 … This pledge is aimed at federal offices but I also make the pledge not to make a career of serving in the state legislature the way my opponent has.”
Sawyer: Sawyer has sponsored bills that would eliminate taxes on feminine hygiene products, abolish the death penalty and release Kansans convicted of marijuana charges.
What are your top priorities in office?
Parisho: Parisho has criticized the state’s child welfare system on his campaign Facebook page.
“This system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up or scrapped and replaced,” he said in 2022.
Sawyer: Sawyer and House Democrats proposed a series of tax cuts in the 2024 session. Democrats and Republicans were at odds on how to cut taxes, but both sides had proposals to cut Social Security income taxes, property taxes and income taxes.
Sawyer also supports Medicaid expansion and lowering prescription drug costs.
