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Shawnee County DA Forms Exploratory Committee For Senate Run

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor has officially formed an exploratory committee to gauge a possible run for the U.S. Senate.

Taylor, a 40-year-old Democrat, says he's planning a statewide listening tour to find out the issues most important to Kansans.

“The reason that I want to do this with individuals across the state is that I don’t want some D.C. think tank consultants telling me what the people of Kansas think. I want to hear it from them,” Taylor said.

If Taylor continues in the campaign he could face Republican U.S Senator Pat Roberts, who has held the seat since the late 1990s. A campaign manager for Roberts told the Associated Press that Taylor needs to have a statewide tour because he isn't known outside of Shawnee County. Roberts is facing a primary challenge from Milton Wolf, a physician in the Kansas City area.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.