Reno County�s Kerry Burt, 27, did not have to knock off an incumbent Congressman in a primary or collect thousands of signatures on a petition to get on the 1st Congressional District�s Nov. 8 ballot.



�My lovely wife nominated me,� he said.



Emily Burt�s choice was the sole nominee for the 1st District seat at the Libertarian Party of Kansas� convention in Salina.



Getting the nomination was a walk in the park. Winning the Congressional race against Roger Marshall, R-Great Bend, and Alan LaPolice, Ind-Clyde, will be an uphill battle, Burt readily acknowledges.



There is a �fantastic group of volunteers� in the Libertarian Party, �but I�m on my own financially,� he said. He is contacting newspapers and radio stations in the Big First, and he has said yes to a couple of candidate forums.



However, Burt works full time at Midwest Malibu Center in Hutchinson and the couple has two young children, including a son who is home-schooled. Burt doesn�t plan to take time off from work to campaign throughout the district.



He said his challenge is to show people that they are actually Libertarians.



�I think that most people, deep down, are,� he said.



Burt�s views



The Libertarian philosophy is described as fiscally conservative, socially liberal. Burt prefers �fiscally conservative and socially whatever you want as long as you don�t try to force your social beliefs on others.�



Burt admires former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge � �probably the most underrated president� � for his spending cuts. On social issues and political debate, Burt questions why �suddenly we become very interested in everybody else�s business.�



On other points:



-Second Amendment: He�s an �enthusiastic gun owner� and supports the right to own and to carry, either concealed or openly.



-Abortion: �I want to get the government out of the abortion business,� he said. �I have no desire to fund Planned Parenthood. I want to defund most of those programs that are sucking our economy dry.�



-Illegal immigration: He favors streamlining the process to make it easier to come into the U.S. legally. At the same time, the U.S. should reduce its �robust welfare state� status, which should make it less attractive for immigrants, he said. �It will largely solve itself.�



-Free trade: �I�m a big proponent of free trade. I want to see us trade as much as possible,� he said. U.S.-imposed sanctions hurt the working classes in foreign countries and in the U.S., in his view. �The one thing that unifies all of us is that we all really like stuff. As long as we have unbridled access to it, we won�t have as many problems,� he said.



-Regulation: He wants less and said one new regulation only spurs �a litany of more regulations.� Regarding governmental regulations on consumer goods, he said, �The free market does a fantastic job of telling us what�s good and what�s not good.�



-Term limits: He�s for them. He praises George Washington for stepping down as president after two terms.



-Governmental growth: �Government feels the solution to every problem is more government � one more subsidy, one more tax, one more regulation,� he said. Maybe the solution is not another program but the American people, because government lacks creativity, he said.



Growing up Republican



Burt was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, but the family soon moved to Marysville. He�s lived in various parts of Kansas, going to high school in Abilene and attending Kansas State University in Salina. Since entering the race, the candidate and his family have moved from Hutchinson to a 14-acre farm closer to Haven. He hopes they can have some cattle and raise some of their food.



He has been a Republican most of his life, but he says the GOP �has gone too far in a negative direction� and he can�t see himself ever going back to it.



Burt suspected U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler/Hutchinson, would prevail in the August primary against Marshall. With no Democrat running, Burt did not want to see Huelskamp as the only candidate on the fall ballot.



�That is a big part of why I put my name in there,� he said. He couldn�t stand the idea �that someone would just be handed an office.�



However, less than week after Burt was nominated in late April, LaPolice announced he would end his Republican primary bid and collect signatures to file by petition to run as an independent in November. Marshall defeated Huelskamp in the Aug. 2 primary.



�I�m really happy that Kansans will have two choices (LaPolice and himself) that are outside the norm,� Burt said.



�It�s really a good year to be a Libertarian in Kansas,� Burt also said.



There�s a Libertarian running for the U.S. Senate and a party candidate in all four Congressional races in the state. Also, two Libertarians are running for the Kansas Senate, five for the Kansas House, and one for district magistrate judge.