Joshua Svaty (; born November 7, 1979) is an American politician, farmer, and businessman from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. He announced his bid for the 2018 Kansas gubernatorial election as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

on May 16, 2017. In 2002, at the age of 22, Svaty was elected to the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...

and served until he was appointed secretary of the

Kansas Department of Agriculture The Kansas Department of Agriculture is a department of the government of Kansas under the Governor of Kansas. It is responsible for providing services and expertise that promote and protect Kansas' food supply and natural resources while stimul ...

by Governor

Mark Parkinson Mark Vincent Parkinson (born June 24, 1957) is an American businessman and former politician serving as head of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). He served as the 47th lieutenant governor ...

on July 14, 2009. After leaving office in 2011, Svaty served as the Vice President of

The Land Institute The Land Institute is an American nonprofit research, education, and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture, based in Salina, Kansas. Their goal is to develop an agricultural system based on perennial crops that "has the ecolo ...

, a nonprofit agricultural research entity near Salina. He and his wife own a farm in

Ellsworth County, Kansas Ellsworth County (county code EW) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 6,376. Its county seat and most populous city is Ellsworth. History Early history From the 16th century to ...

Education

Svaty received his undergraduate degree from Sterling College, a small liberal arts college in

Sterling, Kansas Sterling is a city in Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,248. Sterling is home to Sterling College. History For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Ame ...

. He later attended

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, partly during his term in the

Career

Campaign for Governor

Since announcing he was running for Governor of Kansas in May 2017, Svaty visited all 105 Kansas counties as part of his campaign trail, traveling over 16,701 miles and counting. In May 2018, Svaty announced his running mate for lieutenant governor to be Katrina Lewison, a Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education member and former Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

House of Representatives

Svaty was first elected to the

at the age of 22. Svaty started his term on January 8, 2003 as a representative of the 108th district, which consisted of Ellsworth County, rural Saline County, parts of south Salina, and Solomon in

Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Dickinson County, Iowa * Dickinson County, Kansas * Dickinson County, Michigan See also * Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonw ...

. Svaty, a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, was elected in a district in which the Republican Party held a 2-to-1 registration advantage. He was re-elected to his House seat three times.

Committee membership

* Energy and Utilities * Agriculture and Natural Resources (Ranking Member) * Joint Committee on Energy and Environmental Policy

Major donors

The top 5 donors to Svaty's 2008 campaign: *1.

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

$1,500 *2. Kansas National Education Assoc $1,000 *3. Kansas Medical Society $1,000 *4. Kansas Contractors Assoc $1,000 *5. Pioneer Communications $1,000

Secretary of Agriculture

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

appointed Svaty as the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture in 2009. He served in this role from 2009-2011.

EPA

Svaty served as senior advisor to the regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7 for more than two years, following his time as the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Land Institute

Svaty served as the vice president of The Land Institute, a science-based research organization based in Saline County that is working on developing perennial grain crops, before he returned to farming in Ellsworth County. He left The Land Institute in 2015 to focus fully on Free State Farms.

Free State Farms

Svaty and his wife, Kimberly, own and operate Free State Farms, a crop and livestock operation in Ellsworth County. Free State Farms was formed in 2010 and is a fully diversified operation that includes wheat, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and a cow/calf operation.

References

External links

Campaign website

Kansas Department of Agriculture

Project Vote Smart profile

Kansas Votes profile

State Surge - Legislative and voting track record
* Campaign contributions
200220042008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svaty, Joshua 1979 births Kansas lawyers Kansas Secretaries of Agriculture Living people Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Ellsworth, Kansas Washburn University alumni 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Sterling College alumni Candidates in the 2018 United States elections