Kansas' first transgender legislator, Stephanie Byers, won't seek re-election. Here is who's running

The state's first transgender lawmaker, Rep. Stephanie Byers, won't seek re-election to the Kansas House, the biggest revelation on the final day to formally announce a run for state office in Kansas.

Speaking with reporters after officially filing paperwork to end her candidacy, Byers said the move was to care for aging family out-of-state.

"They took care of us, from the time we were born, until we became adults," said Byers, a Wichita Democrat. "It is now our turn to take care of them."

She added the decision wasn't related to the vitriol often directed her way for being transgender and noted she was likely to get involved with politics in Texas, where she and her wife are moving.

"If anybody has ever spent five minutes with me, they know I don't run from a fight," Byers said. "If anything, if I see a fire, I run into it."

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Stephanie Byers faced barbs during House service

In May, a Republican lawmaker made headlines for an email to a constituent where she said she doesn't "appreciate the huge transgender female who is now in our restrooms in the Capitol," a reference to Byers.

At the time, Byers said it was the most blatant in a series of subtle barbs directed at her in the Statehouse.

Byers' victory in 2020 was history-making, but her presence in Topeka gained even more attention as lawmakers considered proposals in the past two years to ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports.

At least one other candidate for Kansas House, Jaelynn Elise Abegg, of Wichita, is transgender. Abegg is running against longtime Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita.

"We need to make sure that when we run for office, that we are honest about who we are," Byers said when asked what advice she would have for other LGBTQ candidates. "And we are honest about the issues and impact the constituents that we represent."

The news was the most surprising development of an unusually sedate final day for candidates to formally announce their candidacy for U.S. House of Representatives, Kansas House and Kansas State Board of Education.

The deadline to file was pushed back to June 10 after the state's Congressional and legislative maps were thrust into legal uncertainty. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled both sets of lines constitutional last month.

All candidates seeking statewide office, such as governor, U.S. Senate or attorney general, had to file by June 1.

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All four Kansas Congressional races to be contested

All four of the state's Congressional races will be contested. Challengers in the state's two most competitive districts have long had challengers.

Topeka Democrat Patrick Schmidt is challenging U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner in the 2nd Congressional District. Meanwhile, Kansas' lone Democrat in Congress, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, has drawn two Republicans vying to be her general election opponent, most notably businesswoman Amanda Atkins.

Meanwhile, recent days saw candidates in the other two races come out of the woodwork.

Garden City teacher Jimmy Beard will challenge U.S. Rep. Tracy Mann, R-Kan., in the sweeping 1st Congressional District, which will include most of Lawrence for the first time, in addition to western Kansas.

Meanwhile, Bob Hernandez, a Wichita businessman, will challenge U.S. Rep. Ron Estes in the 4th Congressional District.

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On the legislative level, there will be 63 contested races in the Kansas House, with all 125 seats in the body up for grabs. Four Topeka-area House races will be competitive.

Two of the seats in Hutchinson will feature competitive races. Buhler native Garth Strand, a Democrat, will face off against Rep. Paul Waggoner, R-Hutchinson, and Rep. Jason Probst, D-Hutchinson, will be running against GOP challenger John Whitesel.

In Salina, Rep. Clarke Sanders, R-Salina, will face Democrat Molly Molina.

Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Stephanie Byers, first Kansas transgender legislator, won't run again