The GOP chairman of the House Appropriations Committee will face his first primary challenge next year.

The Hutchinson News reports that Barbara Bunting became an official candidate last week in the 72nd House Republican primary. She will face 52-year-old Marc Rhoades of Newton who has handily defeated Democratic opponents ever since he first won the seat in 2006.

Bunting, also of Newton, is a longtime school board member and past president of the Kansas Association of School Boards.

Rhoades says Bunting is supported by Democrats and “those who have an affinity for big government.”

The 59-year-old Bunting considers herself “more moderate” than Rhoades. She says Republicans are her primary supporters, but she adds that Democrats and unaffiliated voters also are backing her.

No Democrats have entered the race yet.
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Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News