Image: Elaine Bowers

State Sen. Elaine Bowers announced her staff for the 2026 Kansas Legislative Session, naming longtime aide Randi Walters as her Legislative Office and Committee Assistant and Bricen Benyshek as her legislative intern.

Walters, of Topeka, will mark her tenth year working with Sen. Bowers. Before joining the senator’s staff, Walters spent 30 years with Southwestern Bell and has more than 23 years of experience working at the Kansas Statehouse assisting multiple legislators.

Benyshek, of Concordia, is a second-year undergraduate student at Kansas State University, where he is studying engineering and entomology. He brings an agricultural background to the position, having been raised in production agriculture. Benyshek graduated in 2024 as a dual alumnus of Concordia High School and Cloud County Community College, earning an Associate of Science degree in agriculture.

During the 2026 session, Sen. Bowers will chair the Senate Local Government, Transparency and Ethics Committee. She will also serve 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, Bowers serves on the Kansas Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.

Bowers was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and represents Senate District 36.