TOPEKA—State Senator Elaine Bowers is excited to announce that the members of staff who will assist her in the 2026 Legislative Session will be Legislative Office/Committee Assistant Randi Walters, of Topeka; and intern Bricen Benyshek, of Concordia.
This will be Walters’ tenth year serving with Senator Bowers. Prior to working for Senator Bowers, Walters was employed for 30 years at Southwestern Bell before working at the Capitol where she has assisted several legislators for over 23 years.
Benyshek is a second-year undergraduate at Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas), where he is pursuing a dual interest in Engineering and Entomology. Bricen brings a strong practical background to his studies, having been raised on production agriculture. Notably, he graduated in 2024 as a dual alumnus of Concordia High School and Cloud County Community College, where he earned an Associate of Science in Agriculture.
For the 2026 Legislative Session, Senator Bowers will chair the Local Government, Transparency and Ethics Committee. Additional assignments include serving on the Judiciary, Transportation, and Utilities Committees, as well as the Capitol Preservation Committee and the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight. In addition, she also serves on the Kansas Commission for the United States Semi quincentennial to help commemorate our nation’s 250th anniversary.
Senator Bowers was first elected to the Senate in 2012, representing Senate District 36. The district includes Clay, Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Republic, Rooks, Russell, Smith, and Washington counties, as well as parts of Phillips and Marshall Counties. Prior to serving in the Senate, Senator Bowers served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 through 2012, representing House District 107. Today she represents over 70,000 people in north-central, western, and eastern Kansas along the border of Nebraska.
