Grant gets win in District 2 state House race

A 17-year veteran of the Kansas Legislature, Bob Grant was one of the few Democrats to emerge victorious Tuesday night by defeating Republican candidate Jeff Locke for the Kansas House District 2 seat.

Grant is a businessman who lives in Cherokee. Locke is a Fort Scott Community College instructor who lives in Arma. Libertarian Larry Monaghan was also in the mix. The Kansas Secretary of State's website shows Grant received 3,509 votes, or 54 percent. Locke got 2,781, or 43 percent, and Monaghan, 167 votes, or 3 percent.

The district includes Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties.

Cherokee County did not have its results available Tuesday night.

According to his House website, Grant sits on the Commerce and Labor and Federal and State Affairs committees. He is a ranking member of the Financial Institutions Committee, sits on the Insurance Committee, the Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State and the Joint Committee on State Building Construction.

The Kansas House is now made up of 92 Republicans and 33 Democrats. The Associated Press reports the state Senate still has a 31-9 Republican majority, because two seats were on the ballot for senators appointed to fill midterm vacancies.