David G. Miller (R-Lawrence) filed to run for the Kansas Senate on Monday at the Secretary of State’s office in Topeka.
“Douglas County has become a one-party county and we are all paying dearly for it,” Miller said. “We must have real tax relief. Our taxes have skyrocketed and the Legislature failed to override the Governor’s tax cut veto. It seems that she and her party care more about the government’s fat checkbook than they care about the taxpayers. I strongly disagree with that thinking.”
Miller continued, “It is clear we have a severe government spending problem. We must stop this runaway spending and give the people back more of their own money, which they badly need just to go to the grocery store. Inflation is fueled by excessive government spending, which must be curbed if inflation is to be tamed,” Miller said. “I’m most concerned about what we are doing to our young people. The Democrats have ruined our economy and are making it very tough on those who are just starting their lives. Historically, parents have believed their children would have a better life than their own. Sadly, that is no longer the case for many. We are leaving our kids with a mountain of debt that will trigger unbearable taxes,” he said.
Miller, 74, grew up in Eudora where he and his wife, Marjorie, owned and operated Miller Agency Insurance for over 30 years. Marjorie died in 2017 following a three-year battle with inflammatory breast cancer. In 2019, he married Dr. Kathleen Ammel, a local optometrist. She and the late Mark Dunham have an adult daughter, Samantha Dunham.
Miller previously served in twelve sessions of the Kansas House of Representatives in the 1980’s. His district then was comprised of eastern Douglas and western Johnson Counties. While in the House, Miller served on the Ways and Means Committee and was a subcommittee Chairman. He also served on several other committees including Reap- portionment, Commercial and Financial Institutions, Pensions, Investments and Benefits, and Education. In his last term he was Chairman of the powerful Legislative Post Audit Committee.
Miller authored several significant pieces of legislation during his prior legislative service, including a law to require a balanced budget, a law to permit across-the-board budget cuts if the state general fund experiences a shortfall, and the KanWork Act, the state’s first welfare reform law.
In 1990, Wichita real estate executive and candidate for Governor, Nestor Weigand, Jr., tapped Miller to run with him for Lt. Governor. Weigand and Miller narrowly lost the primary race to incumbent Governor Mike Hayden.
That year, Miller was elected to a seat on the Kansas Republican State Committee. He was re-elected in 1992 and served as Vice Chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Committee. In 1995 and again in 1997, Miller was unanimously elected Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, leading the Kansas delegation to the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego where Kansas Senator Bob Dole was nominated for President. While serving as State Chairman, Kansas Republicans held both US Senate seats and all four seats in the US House of Representatives.
In 1998, Miller unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Governor Bill Graves, who was seeking re-election. Since then, Miller has helped numerous others seeking office and has stayed active in local Republican campaigns.
Miller is a lifetime member of the University of Kansas Alumni Association, as well as a member of the Williams Fund.