Sen. Usha Reddi faces a challenge from former USD 378 Riley County Schools Superintendent Brad Starnes in the race for the 22nd District seat in the Kansas Senate.
Reddi, a Democrat, was appointed to her seat after then-Sen. Tom Hawk retired at the end of 2022. The District 22 seat has been in Democratic control since 2012, when Hawk won it.
Reddi was a Manhattan city commissioner from 2013 to 2023, and she served as the mayor from 2016 to 2017 and in 2020. She also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020 as a Democrat but dropped out in the primary to focus on the coronavirus pandemic and local recovery.