District 55 in central Topeka — Potwin, College Hill, Westboro, and the surrounding neighborhoods — has a straightforward choice on November 3. On one side is the incumbent, Democrat Tobias Schlingensiepen, a longtime progressive who has used his seat to push expansive social and regulatory agendas. On the other is Lanell Griffith, a Republican with deep local roots, a record of real-world work, and a focus on the things that actually strengthen families and communities. I know Lanell personally. She’s a good lady, and if she were in my district I would vote for her without hesitation. Here’s why she is the better, more wholesome option.
Lanell is a Topeka resident who has lived the values she talks about. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Kinesiology from Kansas State University. She has coordinated workplace wellness programs, restored houses for sale, taught, and served as a grassroots officer in the Republican Party. For six years she homeschooled her sons. When her youngest graduated this past May, she decided the moment was right to step into public service. That is not the resume of someone looking for a political career; it is the resume of a parent and neighbor who has already invested heavily in the next generation and is now ready to fight for the whole district.
Her campaign rests on three clear pillars that match what most people in District 55 actually want:
- Inalienable Rights — Defending the Constitution and the freedoms that let families raise their children as they see fit.
- Affordability — Ending the property-tax spiral that is pricing people out of their homes, with real fiscal guardrails and less government spending.
- Growth — Letting Kansans keep more of what they earn so local businesses can hire and education options can expand.
She has said plainly that government needs to spend less, not more, and that tax relief is not a slogan but a commitment. That is the practical, family-first approach District 55 needs.
Contrast that with the record of the incumbent. Tobias Schlingensiepen has been a reliable progressive vote — aligning with the Democratic majority roughly 96 percent of the time. Among other things, he has been a consistent opponent of various abortion restrictions and has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood. More relevant to the question of community health and priorities, he co-sponsored the major Democratic cannabis legalization packages introduced in the 2025–26 session.
Those bills — HB 2678 (medical cannabis) and HB 2679 (adult-use cannabis) — would have created regulated commercial markets for marijuana, complete with licensing, seed-to-sale tracking, expungement provisions, and an 8 percent excise tax whose proceeds would be steered toward childcare, housing, mental health, and property-tax rebates. Related constitutional resolutions he backed would have added adult and medical cannabis rights to the Kansas Bill of Rights. Both main bills died in committee, as similar efforts have in recent years under Republican leadership. But the sponsorship itself is telling. While Kansas still treats simple possession as a criminal offense and has no comprehensive medical program, Schlingensiepen chose to put his name on measures that would expand access and create a new state-regulated industry around a substance that remains federally restricted and carries documented risks for young people, mental health, and traffic safety.
Legalization advocates often frame these bills as compassion or revenue. In practice they expand government licensing, taxation, and bureaucracy while sending a cultural signal that marijuana is just another consumer product. For a district full of families, schools, and longtime homeowners, that is not the priority. Property taxes, the cost of living, public safety, and the ability of parents to raise their children without new commercial pressures are the priorities. Lanell’s focus on keeping more money in people’s pockets, restraining spending, and protecting basic liberties is the cleaner fit.
This is not an abstract difference. District 55 is a Democratic-leaning seat that the incumbent has held since 2023. Closing the gap will take visible support. Yard signs matter because they show neighbors that a better choice is available and normal. Volunteering matters even more — knocking doors, making calls, or simply talking to friends in Potwin, College Hill, and Westboro. Every sign and every hour of help makes the race more competitive.
Go to lanellforkansas.com today. Request a yard sign. Sign up to volunteer. Donate if you can. Tell your neighbors why a candidate who has homeschooled her own children, restored houses, worked in wellness, and is running on lower taxes and constitutional principles is the more wholesome choice for District 55 than one who has spent his time co-sponsoring cannabis commercialization bills.
Lanell Griffith is not a career politician. She is a local mother and community member who stepped up when her kids were grown. That is exactly the kind of representative Topeka needs. Support her. Get the sign. Help her win.
#LanellForKansas #KSLeg #Topeka #District55 #VoteLanell
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