Manhattan City Commissioner kicks off US Senate campaign

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – A northeast Kansas city official is running for the U.S. Senate next year as a Democrat.

The Kansas City Star reports that Manhattan City Commission member Usha Reddi launched her campaign Thursday and hopes to become the first Hindu to serve in the Senate.

The 54-year-old Reddi is an elementary school teacher who has served on the city commission since 2013 and is now Manhattan’s mayor pro tem. She also ran unsuccessfully for a State Board of Education seat in 2012.

Four-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts announced in January that he’s not seeking re-election in 2020.

Reddi is the third Democrat to launch a campaign, after former federal prosecutor Barry Grissom and former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda. Democrats have not won a Senate race in Kansas since 1932.