Two Democrats are running to represent parts of central, eastern and southeastern Lawrence as the representative for House District 10.

Democrats Suzanne Wikle (incumbent) and TJ Campsey will face off in the Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary election. Barring highly unusual circumstances, the primary election will likely decide the candidate who will be elected to the seat as no candidate is running for the seat with another party.

We asked candidates about the top issues motivating them to run, their views on school funding and local control, and more.

We did not give candidates a word count limit but advised them to keep answers concise. Candidates’ answers appear below verbatim, minus minor typos edited for clarity.

Will this race be on my ballot? Check which Kansas House district you’re in at myvoteinfo.voteks.org.

All registered Kansas voters are eligible to vote in the primary election because there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Early voting begins Wednesday, July 15. Voters can request a ballot to vote early by mail through Tuesday, July 28 at KSVotes.org. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Find out more at lawrencekstimes.com/election2026. 

Jump to a topic:

• Meet the candidates
• Experience and qualifications
• Top 3 issues
• Democratic party platform
• School funding
• Local control
• Trans rights
• Constitutional amendment
• Question for your opponent
• Free space
• Just for fun

This district

This map is zoomed in to show more detail of House districts in Lawrence. District 10 is in yellow-green in this map.

Kansas House District 10 includes much of Lawrence between East 15th Street to the north and the Wakarusa River to the south.

The bulk of the district spans from East 1600 Road to the east to Iowa Street to the west, but it also extends as far west as Kasold Drive in some places.

Click here to see a PDF map of the district.

Meet the candidates

About you and your positions

Q: What specific experience and qualifications do you possess that make you the best candidate to represent House District 10?

Wikle: I am running for re-election to Kansas HD 10 to continue putting my proven advocacy and policy skills to work for our district. My record during my first term shows that I have the experience and qualifications to best represent House District 10.

I hit the ground running in 2025. My first floor amendment offered was for Medicaid expansion – forcing a vote on the issue for the first time in four years. I sponsored and passed a bill requested by DCCCA to make Narcan more accessible in the community – and garnered bipartisan support to get it through some political hurdles. I have been a staunch and consistent voice for working families – as I’m one of only four state representatives to earn a 100% working families scorecard vote from the AFL-CIO. I learned about the concerns of independent pharmacists about insurance middlemen, called pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), and was instrumental in the committee that finally passed the much-needed PBM reform bill. These are some of the positive things I’ve done over the past two years to move important issues forward.

I’ve also fought back hard against the GOP supermajority and Trump administration policies. I’ve brought in-depth policy knowledge to the fight to protect our current Medicaid and food assistance (SNAP) programs after horrendous cuts by Congress in their “One Big Beautiful Bill” in 2025. I led the effort in the House against a terrible bill that codified many provisions of OBBB and went even further with Medicaid cuts, and was successfully able to advocate for some of the worst provisions to be taken out of the legislation. The fight is far from over as we’ve seen 20,000 Kansans, including 10,000 kids, lose food assistance since OBBB, and we know major financing challenges are on the horizon for Medicaid. I will continue to bring my national policy expertise to the legislature to stand up for these important programs.

I’ve also pushed back on corporate home ownership and attacks on workers rights, including incentives for employers to move people from W-2 employment to contract work and protections for gig employers like DoorDash and Uber to avoid employer responsibilities.

Prior to running for office, I worked in the policy and advocacy space for nearly 20 years with a focus on children and family issues, anti-poverty work, health policy, and racial equity policy. I spent seven years working for a nonpartisan organization in Topeka, where I was in the statehouse as an advocate for children’s health issues. During that time I spearheaded the passage of several pieces of legislation and budget items, including an eligibility expansion for children’s Kancare (Medicaid) – making 10,000 more kids eligible for health insurance, updating child care provider licensing standards, and legislation that led to a reduction in infant mortality rates in Kansas. My opponent has tried to label me as a “career lobbyist” and if seven years working on legislation that led to more kids getting health insurance, fewer infants dying, and safer child care facilities makes me a career lobbyist, I’ll wear the badge proudly.

For the past eleven years I’ve worked for a national policy organization. I support and advise advocates across the country to help them identify how their states can provide stronger safety net policies for children and families. I’m also engaged on federal advocacy work related to healthcare and economic justice policy.

Over the course of my career I have developed a depth of policy knowledge that makes me qualified to craft and debate legislation, engage with stakeholders, and find compromise (when possible) with other members of the legislature. I have a deep understanding of the legislative process, and of the relationship between federal, state and local funding and policy. I was able to deeply engage from day one in 2025 and will continue to put my expertise to use for District 10.

I also have real life experience about many of the issues I’m passionate about. My husband and I have two children in the public school system and spent eight years paying for one or two children in child care. I have a vested interest in ensuring strong public schools and finding solutions to the child care crisis. As a mom of a daughter, I am very passionate about protecting reproductive rights and abortion access. As someone who had to take out loans for college and graduate school and has paid student loans while also trying to save for my children’s education, I fully understand the need to ensure higher education opportunities are affordable.

I’m proud of the work I’ve done representing House District 10. I’ve received overwhelming support from constituents while in office and during this re-election campaign. If the voters choose me to continue representing them I will continue to work very hard at this job to bring the values of House District 10 to Topeka.

Campsey: I’m a longtime organizer, since the movement against the war in Iraq. I’ve participated in the Occupy Movement, housing co-operatives, labor organizing, and the anti-MAGA movement.

I will use my organizing background to work with progressive and democratic forces in GOP held districts to rally the voters there around our common working class interests. We’ll organize to put pressure on GOP representatives to advance working class policies.

Q: Please list the top 3 issues motivating you to run for this office. What concrete ideas do you have to make a difference on each issue if you are elected?

Wikle: I ran for office in 2024 and am running for re-election this year to continue advocating for real change to the issues that affect our lives every day because as a mom raising two young kids, I know the majority of the Kansas Legislature is out of touch with Kansas families:

Healthcare Affordability. The cost of health insurance and care continues to put enormous pressure on household budgets. I have always stated that healthcare is a basic human right and supported universal healthcare, which I think needs to be done at the federal level. Things I’m advocating for in Kansas:
Medicaid expansion
Controlling prescription costs (such as a cap on insulin prices, which 29 other states plus DC have done)
Medical pricing transparency;
Capping or eliminating out-of-pocket costs for such things as pre-natal care, child birth and routine lab tests;
A paid family and medical leave program. When a family welcomes a new baby or someone has to take leave from work for cancer or another illness they should not have to worry about lost income while also tackling other costs. 15 other states have paid leave programs and we can too.

We also have to make sure we have the healthcare workforce necessary to meet the needs of our state, especially as our population ages.

Education and child care affordability. Funding public schools is a core function of state government and one that I will always prioritize. I don’t think education is only limited to the K-12 years and believe the state must take more steps to make early education and post-secondary education affordable.

When we talk about making life more affordable for Kansas families, child care must be part of the conversation. A year of child care often costs more than a year of college tuition. It’s forcing families to make difficult decisions about someone leaving the workforce, delaying home ownership, or having fewer children than they would like. Other states are starting to solve this problem and we can too. In fact, we must solve it for the future vitality of our state and economic stability for families. It’s a goal of mine to bring together a bipartisan group of legislators to identify a sustainable funding source to address the child care crisis.

For post-secondary education I support greater investments in community colleges, technical schools, and universities. I oppose efforts to legislate what can or cannot be taught in schools and the attack on DEI initiatives.

Cost-of-living issues. There is a lot the state can do to make life more affordable to Kansans. Policies on my list: Changing the minimum wage to a livable wage, ensuring sufficient raises for state employees (and KPERS cola), a renter’s tax credit (KS had this until it was taken away during the Brownback budget disaster), a child tax credit, a strong safety-net that people can actually access when in need, and a progressive tax system that ensures we are not balancing our state budget on the backs of middle and low income Kansans.

Campsey: KanCare for all: We need a state funded single payer that covers all Kansans to address the healthcare crisis.

A Democratic Bill of Rights: With the attacks on voters, we need protection enshrined in the state constitution, including a non-partisan redistricting committee, ranked choice voting, and automatic voter registration.

A Labor Bill of Rights: Labor rights are also under attack. Adding state level protections to the constitution will strengthen the labor movement and the working class more broadly. They include repealing “right to work”, establishing prevailing wages for public contracts, protecting the right to organize at work and to strike, and establishing the right for municipal employees to organize.

Q: The two candidates running in this primary seem to have different perspectives on the Democratic party designation.

Please share what running as a Democrat in this race means, in your view. Do your values and/or positions differ in any substantial way(s) from the Platform of the Kansas Democratic Party, and if so, how?

Wikle: I have run as a progressive Democrat since I launched my initial campaign in 2024. My views do not differ substantially from the party platform. Running as a progressive democrat means to me that I stand for healthcare, education and housing as basic human rights; that our tax system should be fair and progressive, ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share; and that every human being has equal rights. That is what my record in Topeka reflects.

Campsey: The Democratic Party is a big tent that includes all types. The Party base is a diverse coalition. Running as a Democrat can mean a lot of things. The Platform of the Kansas Democratic Party covers a lot of ground, taking ideological positions, like healthcare and housing are rights, equal protection under the law, and government transparency. I agree with all of these positions.

Where it does make concrete policy proposals is on voting reform. All of these proposals are included my Democratic Bill of Rights.

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Q: Kansas does not fully fund the required amount of 92% of special education excess costs, leading to budget strains for public schools across the state. Please share your stance on how the Legislature should maintain or change its approach to school funding in upcoming sessions.

Wikle: The 2027 legislative session will be crucial for school funding. The state’s school finance formula expires in June 2027, which means the legislature will craft and pass a new formula during the next legislative session.

I believe a well-funded public school system is critical to the success of Kansas children and our communities. I support continuing to fully fund our state base aid per student formula and we must also fully fund special education. USD 497 is spending around $15 million out of general funds for special education services the state should be paying for. This limits what 497 can do for other programs in the district, and is also an issue directly related to property taxes. I also think the state should take the opportunity in 2027 to consider adding pre-k to the school funding formula because we know that high-quality pre-k programs are beneficial to children, and also a very expensive cost for parents.

Our schools need supportive legislators in Topeka just as much now as we did when the Brownback mess was cleaned up. When I look around the Kansas House of Representatives there are very few of us that have children in public schools. And that’s a problem because our schools face immense funding threats and ideological pushes. I will always support our public schools – by refusing to allow public dollars to go to private schools, by fully funding schools, including special education, and resisting efforts for the legislature to overstep local control.

Campsey: The GOP has been a consistent roadblock to meeting the state’s constitutionally mandated funding for public schools. They’ve shown nothing but contempt for the courts and for the people of Kansas. Advocates for schools, teachers unions and law makers need to work together take the funding formula task force to task for their repeated failure to meet court orders.

Q: Local control for municipalities has been an issue for the City of Lawrence for many years. As a recent example, the Legislature passed a statute that invalidated Lawrence’s ordinance protecting renters from discrimination based on their source of income.

With that context in mind, please share your views on local control. If elected, would you stand up for Lawrence and its local control? If so, how? If not, why not?

Wikle: My voting record shows I have consistently supported local control during my first term in the legislature. I spoke on the House floor about this issue after a legislator from Garden City called Lawrence “crazy” for our statute. Additionally, I regularly have conversations with my colleagues in the House where I defend and stand up for Lawrence about all sorts of issues. I am proud to represent Lawrence and the values of voters in District 10, and that includes standing up for our city and also consistently supporting local control or “home rule”, as defined by our state’s constitution.

I would only consider overruling local control if the actions of a local governing body in the state was harming or discriminating against members of that community, or if there was a large public health crisis that required a uniform statewide response.

Campsey: Source of income discrimination is just one of many places where the state infringes on the rights of local communities. Others include the ban on rent control, and attacks on local school boards’ academic freedom. I will fight all of these examples of the state’s overreach into local matters.

Q: SB 244, Kansas’ most recent “bathroom bill,” and other anti-transgender legislation in recent years has raised concerns for many trans Lawrence residents. Some are even making plans to leave the state.

Please explain your stance on the rights of transgender people and what the Legislature’s role in their private versus public lives should be.

Wikle: My stance on the rights of LGBTQ+ people is that they have the same rights as people who are straight and cisgendered. The only role the legislature should have in the lives of LGBTQ+ people is enshrining their rights as equal to everyone else’s rights and banning any form of discrimination.

Unfortunately, the majority party has consistently attacked Kansans who are transgender. The very first remarks I ever made on the House floor were in opposition to SB 63, which took away the decision making power about gender affirming care for minors from families and doctors. This past session I spoke out against the bathroom and drivers’ license bill and offered an amendment with the aim of helping the legal argument against the legislation. I have stated multiple times on the House floor that healthcare is a basic human right and I trust doctors and their patients to make the best decisions.

I wish we weren’t having these debates in the Kansas legislature because they are harmful in multiple ways to our community members and because they take away time and resources from working on issues that voters actually care about, such as doing everything we can to expand access to healthcare, solve the child care affordability crisis, and create a tax system that ensures everyone pays their fair share. However, when the attacks come my constituents know that I will stand up and fight back, just as I have done.

Campsey: Trans people and their loved ones are terrified of the assault on their human rights. The government has no role in interfering in the bodily autonomy and medical decisions of trans people. The far right has made a scapegoat of trans people to divide the working class majority. We need to come together to defend our neighbors and siblings in the trans community.

Q: What is your stance on the proposed constitutional amendment that would change the method of selection of Supreme Court justices?

Wikle: I am strongly opposed. I voted no on the House floor and am encouraging the voters in District 10 to vote no. My recent op-ed explains that the State Supreme Court has served its role – the checks and balances on the legislature have worked, and that is how it should continue to work.

I think it’s important for voters to understand how a constitutional amendment ends up on our ballot. In the legislature, a proposed constitutional amendment must receive a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, and then it goes directly to the ballot. The Governor does not get a chance to veto the proposal. The Republicans have such a super majority that this was put on the ballot with only Republican votes, and it’s very clear they are doing this as their next attempt to attack abortion rights and school funding.

Campsey: I have a vote no sign in my yard and have been advising voters to oppose the amendment when canvassing the 10th district. This attempt to buy the Kansas Supreme Court threatens to remove one of the last checks on the GOP’s power, especially their attacks on reproductive rights, trans rights, and school funding.

Optional questions

Q: Please share a question we didn’t ask that you’d like your opponent to answer. How would you respond?

Wikle: Why are you running as a democrat in the primary if you’re a communist?

Representative Wikle’s response if asked this question: I am not a communist. I am a Democrat, and the only one in this race. I would not run in the primary of a party I didn’t belong to.

Campsey: (no response)

Q: Free space: Please share anything you’d like voters to know about you and your stances that we haven’t asked here.

Wikle: I’ve talked and emailed with hundreds of constituents during my first term in office. People who have engaged with me know that I take this work very seriously and that I’m going to be honest and transparent. I’m not going to make promises I can’t deliver on but I do promise I will always stand up for families, kids, democracy, and human rights. My record proves that.

Because of my strong record supporting families and workers, I’ve received endorsements from a broad coalition of support:
KNEA, LEA, Lawrence Firefighters Local 1596, Kansas Farm Bureau, Cannabis Justice Coalition, Douglas County Young Dems, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, SMART TD, Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate, LiUNA! Local 1290, Gov. Laura Kelly, Former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Rep. Mike Amyx, HD 45 in Lawrence, Rep. Barbara Ballard, HD 44 in Lawrence, Rep. Brooklynne Mosley, HD 46 in Lawrence, and Sen. Marci Francisco, Senate District 2 in Lawrence.

Campsey: Talking to voters across the district, I’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response to my message. People are disturbed, angry, and terrified at the attacks from the extreme right. They are ready to come together and fight back, but their elected leaders have failed to meet the moment, and they don’t have a banner to rally around. I entered this race to raise that banner and to carry our collective voice into the halls of power in Topeka.

If anyone tells you to temper your expectations or to be more realistic, tell them that’s not the kind of leadership the 10th House District needs. We are one of the most progressive districts in the state and we need leaders who reflect that.

Just for fun

Candidates were not required to answer any of these questions, but we wanted to give our readers a chance to get to know them a little better and have some fun with this.

Wikle:

Favorite color? Blue

Zodiac sign? Aquarius

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? Our family has a dog that we adopted from the Lawrence Humane Society.

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? Favorite podcast: Optimist Economy – breaks down the economy we have and builds the case for the one we could have.

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) I don’t drink coffee. My source of caffeine is black tea, preferably earl grey or lady grey.

Campsey:

Favorite color? Purple

Zodiac sign? (no response)

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? We have a cat named Comic Sans. We call her Commie for short. We found her at the cat cafe on Mass street and she’s the sweetest little thing.

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) I love camping, swimming, and bike riding. My favorite campfire singalong song is “John Brown’s Body”

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