ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The race to represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate is officially filled, and Kevin Latz is one of the candidates looking to help possibly make a change.

Latz, who currently works as a pediatric surgeon, said he is not entirely new to the political world.

“I'm a native Texan. I moved to Kansas in 1990 and I have an undergraduate degree that sent me to Washington, DC, for about a year and a half, where I worked on the House Ag Committee and for my congressman, and candidly, I didn't see anything really getting done,” Latz said. “I thought, surely there's something better I can do to help folks, so I went to one of those schools that give you a broad range of undergraduate experience. I took the MCAT, went to med school, and then came to Kansas to do an orthopedic surgery residency. I came in 1990 and then left for some fellowship training. I did an orthopedic surgery fellow residency with the University of Kansas and then did fellowships in Toronto and Boston, but then came back here to live and raise a family. I’d thought about running in fall of 2024, but I met with Jeanna Repass, and she encouraged me to kind of cool my heels and really think about it. So I thought about it and thought about it and just didn't hear anybody really offering solutions, mostly complaining and not really an solutions. Perhaps because I'm an orthopedic surgeon by training and by nature I eventually thought ‘Enough's enough,’ so I entered the race earlier this to offer solutions for what I thought were significant problems for Kansas kids and families.”

Latz said ultimately, he started thinking officially about entering the race.

“I started thinking about it right before the last presidential election. My kids were a little bit younger, and I saw the difference of the times,” Latz said. “I didn't like the tenor of the politics. I didn't like how the dialogue had become very coarse, and I thought I had something to offer to address that. I also saw the complete ineffectiveness of Roger Marshall, and I heard a lot of the Democratic candidates running – all of whom are good folks – who literally made their entire stump speech complaining about the state of affairs in Washington, DC, but I didn’t really hear anybody offer solutions, and I just thought we could do better.”

Ultimately, Latz said, the U.S. Senate fit his goals more.

“I heard Bill Frist give an interview recently, and he made a comment along the lines of how he wanted to do more than help the patient in front of me, and that really stuck with me,” Latz said. “I want to affect policy that would have a positive impact on the public health of the nation at large, and you can't do that as a mayor of or even, honestly, as governor of Kansas. I feel like you can impact federal policy as a federally elected official. My congressman from Johnson County, is doing a fine job with regards to policies that I thought were important, but I did not think my U.S.ß senator was doing that same fine job, and so it made the choice quite easy in terms of what office I wanted to run for.”

Latz said there are multiple goals he has should he ultimately be elected to office.

“I'm still a practicing orthopedic surgeon and taking care of kids and families, so single-payer health care is a no-brainer. You shouldn't go broke if you get sick or get hurt. I've seen that too much in my families over the last 30 years of practice, so access and affordability of healthcare would be my primary focus,” Latz said. “My second primary focus, as a father is creating opportunities for young families and children, and that includes things like affordable childcare, access to pre-K education, making school beyond high school more affordable and more accessible for young adults. Something else that’s important to me is safety on social media and the lack of regulation of social media sites. Something else that’s really important to me, as a trauma surgeon, is responsible gun safety policies. Those are all things would be jobs one, two, and three if I end up getting elected,”

Latz added the campaign trail has been a learning experience so far, and also offered encouragement for constituents to get in touch with him. 

“There's no doubt about it how success as a politician is related to A, your policies, and B, your charisma. I think I'm pretty good on the first, and maybe not so great on the second, I'm not a public speaker – I've been having conversations behind closed doors with families forever, but getting in front of a group of people and articulating policy and goals does not come firsthand to me. So that's definitely been a learning curve,” Latz said. “I learned a long time ago when talking to people, you need to sit quietly, listen to their concerns and listen to their goals. I'd like to think at this point in my life, I'm a pretty good listener. Anyone wanting to get in touch with us can contact us through our social media pages or through our Web site, latz4kansas.org and leave a question or request.”

Overall, Latz said, he is ready to get to work, and he is willing to work hard.

“My skill set is not in agriculture, but I've spent a life learning how to do things better and differently. I'm a scientist by nature and a lifelong learner. I got my MBA a couple years ago as a, as a full-grown adult in a class of 30-year-olds, so I'm excited for the opportunity to study issues. I am not an ag expert, but I'm a good listener, and as a scientist, I think I can address some of the concerns the folks in Liberal and western and central Kansas have foremost as far as their list of concerns. I think I can take in that information and help problem solve with them better than many, and so I'm looking forward to that opportunity.”