Print edition: 
TOPEKA — Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, says she plans to prioritize jobs, fiscal responsibility and services for senior citizens as she starts her bid for a third term.
McGinn, who filed for re-election this week, said she and others in the Senate have worked hard to reduce spending and grow the state’s economy.
“We hit a little speed bump going through a national recession, but we did better than most states,” she said. “And I think that has to do with the good public policy we moved forward.”
McGinn helped lead an effort last year to bolster professional engineering programs at Wichita State University, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. The Keeping Kansas Competitive program sends $3.5 million a year to the engineering schools, and the schools match that with their own money or from other sources, such as aviation companies.
She was elected in 2004 and won handily in 2008 in District 31, which covers northeast Sedgwick County and all of Harvey County. She is chair of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee and is vice chair of the Natural Resources Committee.
She and her husband, Mark, operate a grain production farm. They have two sons.
McGinn faces a primary challenger in Gary Mason, CEO of iSi Environmental and a former chair of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Board.
The primary showdown is one of at least eight races that pit conservative challengers who have financial backing from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce against incumbent Republican senators, including many who are in leadership positions.
Moderate forces in the Senate have blocked more conservative legislation from the House in the past. Observers say conservatives could claim control of the Senate with two to six victories next fall.
Through the end of 2011, McGinn’s campaign raised $67,185; that money, combined with carryover from earlier years, means she had $118,733 available at the start of 2012. Mason had raised $54,330, including a $23,000 loan to himself.
