(KNZA)--A second candidate is running for the Kansas Senate seat currently held by Dennis Pyle, which is up for election in 2024.

Craig Bowser, of Holton, joins State Representative Dr. John Eplee, of Atchison, in seeking the Republican nomination for Senate District 1.

Pyle, who has held the seat since 2005, changed his party affiliation in June to run for Kansas governor as an Independent.

Bowser is a fifth-generation Kansan, raised on a ranch near Holton. He currently works for the state of Kansas as an information security officer in Topeka. Bowser and his wife, Erin, live on a farm near Holton.

He said he's running for the State Senate to return conservative leadership to the first Senate District.

The district includes Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson and Nemaha Counties, along with portions of Marshall and Pottawatomie Counties.