Rep. John Whitmer loses House primary to Moore

Kansas Rep. John Whitmer lost a Republican primary re-election bid to opponent J.C. Moore by roughly 50 votes, according to unofficial election results.

Moore will face Democratic nominee Clifton Beck in the Nov. 6 general election.

Moore has run unsuccessfully for the House twice in other districts. He is a retired educator with a doctorate in chemistry who describes himself as a fiscal conservative.

“I want the state to be fiscally responsible,” Moore said Tuesday night. “We have just squandered our resources and made bad decisions. I had four priorities, fiscal responsibility, excellent schools, great roads and expansion of KanCare.”

Reached by phone Tuesday, Whitmer said he plans to run again in two years.

“I will run again based on principle and I will run based on record,” Whitmer said. “I’m not going to do personal attacks and make stuff up and slander him on a bunch of lies.”

Whitmer is a small business owner from Wichita who has been one of the most conservative House members during his two terms. He has said he wants to lower income taxes by shrinking state government and opposing what he calls reckless spending.

A strong supporter of Kris Kobach, Whitmer was at Kobach’s election watch party Tuesday night.

During his time in the House, Whitmer co-sponsored a bill to prosecute “swatting” as murder, prompted criticism with plans for a transgender bathroom bill and said that schools shouldn’t get more money until they show they are using it effectively.

He has joined calls for Kansas to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature — rather than the state Supreme Court — to decide whether school funding is adequate.

Whitmer said Tuesday that a mailer sent out by Moore’s campaign Friday likely played a role in his defeat. The mailer falsely claimed that Whitmer and his wife didn’t pay property taxes, Whitmer said.

Moore defended his use of the mailer.

“I would not have said that unless I had the records in my hands that said that,” he said.

The Sedgwick County’s property taxes website was down for routine maintenance Tuesday night.

Moore, who was endorsed by former Kansas Republican governors Mike Hayden and Bill Graves, has painted himself as more moderate than Whitmer. On Tuesday night, he was with friends at his treasurer’s house celebrating the win.

“When I get to Topeka, I’m going to work as hard as I can to make sure those goals are made,” he said.

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 9:18 PM.