Barnett plans run for U.S. House

State Sen. Jim Barnett of Emporia plans to announce today that he is running for the 1st Congressional District seat.

"I think Washington is out of control," said Barnett, a Republican. "We need someone that can solve problems and bring reasonable solutions to the fiscal irresponsibility."

He joins an increasingly crowded primary race to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Other contenders: state Sen. Tim Huelskamp of Fowler; Rob Wasinger of Hays, who formerly worked for Sen. Sam Brownback; and Pratt businessman Tim Barker.

Barnett plans to make his announcement at 10 a.m. at the Sauder Alumni Center at Emporia State University.

He was first elected to the Legislature in 2000. In 2006 he attempted to unseat then- Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Barnett, a 54-year-old doctor, has continued to see patients as a legislator. Leaving the internal medicine practice he's built over 27 years in Emporia was a difficult decision, he said.

"I love my practice and still love my patients," he said.

He will continue seeing patients at least through the November election, he said.

In Topeka, health care and fiscal responsibility have been two of his main focuses. Barnett has championed a statewide indoor smoking ban. He heads the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

He has helped increase awareness about the importance of access to health care, said Cathy Harding, executive director for the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved.

"He is one of those rare people who just understand so many complex issues and can bring them to the table and have good discussions," she said.

Barnett said his work on funding safety net clinics, which provide medical care to low income people so they don't have to go to more expensive emergency rooms, is an example of ideas lawmakers in Washington, D.C., should consider.

He wants health care reform to make fiscal sense. He also wants health care decisions to be left up to doctors and patients.

Although Emporia is on in the eastern edge of the "Big First," which stretches to the Kansas-Colorado border, Barnett did not think that would work against him.

"I feel very much at home and comfortable with the people in the First District," he said. "We're the same. I grew up on a farm and my roots will always be on the farm."