WASHINGTON _ Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins was charged Tuesday with three felonies and a misdemeanor related to an investigation into whether he illegally voted in a 2019 municipal election.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay, a Republican, announced the charges about a half-hour before Watkins, a first-term Topeka Republican, was set to appear on a televised debate with his primary challengers Jake LaTurner and Dennis Taylor on KSNT.
Watkins called the timing of the charges "hyper political" and "very suspicious," contending that the district attorney shared a consultant with one of his opponents _ a reference to LaTurner and Kagay's past use of Singularis, a direct mail firm in Overland Park.
