OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – Kansas Republicans have elected a state legislator from Wichita to fill one of the state’s three seats on the GOP National Committee.

The party’s state committee picked Representative Mark Kahrs over veteran Shawnee activist Chad Bettes on a 103-79 vote Saturday.

Kahrs will replace former congressman Todd Tiahrt. The ex-congressman was elected to fill a vacancy in 2011 and to a full, four-year term in 2012 but did not seek re-election.

Kahrs said he’ll push to overhaul the national party to make it more responsive to grassroots activists.

The other Kansans on the national committee are state GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold and longtime Republican activist Helen Van Etten of Topeka.

Van Etten has served on the RNC since 2008 and was elected to her third term Saturday without opposition.