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Aug. 4, 2020Topeka, Kan. |  By: AP

Kansas Rep. Watkins unseated after facing criminal charges

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Freshman Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins has lost his Republican primary after being charged with felony election fraud and other crimes.

State Treasurer Jake LaTurner defeated Watkins in Tuesday's election, only three weeks after the charges were filed. LaTurner argued that Watkins was vulnerable even before the criminal charges were filed in July.

Watkins is accused of voting illegally in a 2019 Topeka City Council race. He also is accused of trying to mislead a sheriff's detective who was investigating his listing of a UPS Inc. store postal box as his residence for state voter registration purposes. Watkins has called the charges "bogus."