Kansas husband and wife seek same seat on county bench

The Associated Press

HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- The general election race for a judgeship in Reno County will be a family affair.

Reno County District Judge Steve Becker will face his wife, Sarah E. Sweet-McKinnon, a public defender in Sedgwick County, in an election in November.

Sweet-McKinnon was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Becker, a Republican, beat deputy Reno County Attorney Thomas Stanton by a 5,097-to-3,036 vote in Tuesday's primary.

The two filed for office together in June when they were in Topeka for the annual judge's conference.

"We spent the night together, then we went to the secretary of state's office and we both filed," Becker said. "She's interested in the job and there are absolutely no hard feelings. We're both real comfortable with this."

Becker has been on the bench more than two decades, and said his wife just wants to serve her home county.

"No question she'd do a good job on the bench," he said. "I can't think of any reason why she shouldn't file, and it's certainly not my position to stand in the way of her career."