Johnson County oncologist joins GOP primary to take on Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids

A Johnson County oncologist is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids next year.

Prasanth Reddy, an executive at Labcorp in enterprise oncology and political newcomer, announced his campaign Wednesday emphasizing his life experience as an immigrant and officer in the Air Force Reserve.

“As an immigrant, I’ve lived the American dream, and I’ve spent my life trying to give back to the country that gave me everything,” Reddy said in a statement.

Reddy immigrated to Kansas from Chennai, India as a child. He attended Kansas State University and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

“Right now, our country is at a breaking point, and there’s no time to sit on the sidelines.”

Reddy called for secure borders, support for police and parental voice in education in his launch statement.

“I’m not a politician. I’ve never wanted to run for office. But the unique experiences I’ve had as an immigrant, a military officer, a physician and a businessman put me in a position to help save our country. Extremist views cannot be the norm,” he said.

He accused Davids, the three-term incumbent, of having “gone along to get along with the most extreme elements of her party.”

Davids votes with Democratic leadership on most bills. She is a vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of roughly 100 Democrats who describe themselves as “committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies.”

Whoever wins the primary will have an uphill battle in a district that Davids has won by increasing margins each cycle since she first ousted Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder in 2018.

Davids won the district, which includes Johnson County, southern Wyandotte County, and three more rural counties to the south, by 12 points last year despite newly drawn lines that should have benefited a Republican.

Republicans see Davids’ district as a target as they hope to maintain their narrow House majority in 2024. The National Republican Congressional Committee has attempted to paint Davids as too liberal for the district and shatter the middle of the road image she’s cultivated for the past five years.

Democrats appear poised to lean into the same dynamics that helped Davids along in her last two reelection fights against Johnson County Republican Amanda Adkins — abortion and reminders of Brownback.

Mohona Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for Davids’ campaign, indicated congresswoman will press Republicans on their abortion positions and how they voted on last year’s abortion ballot measure.

“Any Republican candidate that can’t definitively say they voted against the dangerous anti-abortion amendment vote last year—like Rep. Sharice Davids and nearly 70% of voters in the Third District did—will have to answer for their radical and out of step position,” Chowdhury said.

Reddy is the third candidate to file for the Republican primary in the 3rd congressional district. He entered the race against Karen Crnkovich and Jonathon Westbrook.

Crnkovich, a small businesswoman from Johnson County, announced Monday she’d received donations from 200 people since launching last month.

Westbrook, a former Kansas City, Kansas, police officer, was a White House fellow under former President Donald Trump and was appointed to two Kansas commissions by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. He is currently the treasurer of the Kansas Black Republican Council.

Prior to running for Congress, Davids was a White House fellow under former President Barack Obama.