A 16-year-old high school student has filed to run in the 2018 Kansas governor election, the Kansas City Star reports.
Jack Bergerson, a junior (grade 11 student) at The Independent School in Wichita, says he’s running to give people another option.
“I thought, you know, let’s give the people of Kansas a chance.
“Let’s try something new that has never really been tried anywhere else before,” Bergerson said.
The high school student said he wants to “radically change” the health care system.
“I think if you offer the people of Kansas something radical, something new so then that shows that we can move in a new direction, I think that will put the Democratic Party in a good position to win the seat next year,” he said.
The teen also said that he would support legalizing marijuana for medical purposes and is willing to explore legalizing it for recreational use. He is, however, conservative on gun rights and supports laws allowing people to openly carry weapons.
Bergerson himself will not be old enough to vote in the election.
But, Kansas law does not have any restrictions on qualifications for governor.
“Under Kansas law, there is no law governing the qualifications for governor, not one,” Bryan Caskey, director of elections at the Kansas secretary of state’s office said.
“So there’s seriously nothing on the books that lays out anything, no age, no residency, no experience. Nothing.”
Which is what prompted the teenager to launch his bid for office.
Bergerson, whose announcement garnered much media attention in the United States, told late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live that one of the main reasons he decided to run was to try and spark an interest in politics among his peers.
Classmate Alexander Cline, 17, is set to be his lieutenant governor. Cline will be eligible to vote in the election.
Bergerson will be running against former state Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty, former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer and Arden Andersen, an Olathe doctor.
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