Kansas surgeon tailors U.S. Senate bid to future generations
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Who is Dr. Kevin Latz and why is he running for U.S. Senate in Kansas?
This is the Kansas Reflector Podcast. I'm Anna Kaminsky. When filings for the US Senate opened last fall, the Kansas Reflector staff kept track as a handful of Democrats lined up to challenge incumbent Republican US Senator Roger Marshall, an OPGYN from Great Bend. As time progressed, a few more Democrats joined the race. Then even more declared. And by the time the filing deadline passed us on June first, eleven had signed up to compete for the Democratic nomination on August fourth. One of those people is with me today. I'm speaking with Dr. Kevin Latz, a Mission Hills based physician who wants to improve the health of Kanzans through policy. Doctor Lats, welcome to the podcast.
Very grateful for this opportunity.
So can you first please start off and tell me and and listeners a little bit about your your origin. How long have you been in Kansas? Where are you from originally and your occupation?
So I'm a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. I moved to Kansas in nineteen ninety to complete uh my medical training. I did an Orthopeak Surgery residency at the University of Kansas and that's what brought me here. I'm a uh Texan um by birth. Uh my father was a um in the air force and we's last station was in Austin and so that's where I grew up.
And why are you running for US Senate? And why also as a Democrat and why now?
So I've got long Democratic roots. When I left college, uh I spent a year and a half in Washington DC. I worked for my congressman, Jake Pickle, who's a um a classic Southern Democrat and worked on the House Agriculture Committee uh uh during that time as well. And so the Democratic mantle fits very comfortably on my shoulders. Um and while I'm running now, I think it's similar to my father in Nineteen forty four. Um It was essentially, you know, what What'd you do during the war, Dad? And I kinda feel like we're at that time.
How does Dr. Latz’s experience as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon shape his political outlook?
Hm. You mentioned um y y you come from the kind of the Southern Democrats. How is a Southern Democrat different than your everyday Democrat?
Well, I want to be careful. Um my understanding is that a little more fiscal uh policy uh as a focus. Um and I frankly run think we should run the government similar to how we try to run our household and pay for what you buy as you go. Uh and so to me that's the classic uh Southern Democrat. Also, you know, frankly proud to be uh uh from LBJ High School and uh think the world of President Johnson's ability to pass through all the civil rights legislation. So to me That is the best of the Southern Democrat tradition.
And why did you s decide to run for the US Senate?
At this point in my life, uh while it would make sense to kind of sharpen your teeth at a lower level, uh I thought I'd lived a fairly rich experience, uh, with a lot of experience both as a father and as as a physician and as a spouse. And I thought, frankly, that I wanted to make uh the most of my talents at the level that I thought I could make the biggest difference.
And you've said that you approach policy with a quote unquote physician's mindset. What does that mean exactly? And how does your medical experience prepare you for the role in the US Senate?
So I I do think that physicians and scientists in general are underrepresented. Um when you look back and comparing us to China, which is maybe not the best comparison to make, their government is full of engineers and our government is full of lawyers. And I would argue that perhaps we don't move as quickly and as nimbly as we should is because we have too few scientists and engineers and positions at the at the governmental level at the at the federal level. My role, I think, as a surgeon, uh even more so than a physician, is to uh work in frankly very demanding, exacting environments, sometimes to make very difficult decisions, but always to sit and converse with the family and with my patients.
And my patients, uh my patients as a pediatric orthopedist, uh include both the family and the patient, and so to sit and listen and And then to give them options and then to execute the decision that we as a group make.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Dr. Kevin Latz and why is he running for U.S. Senate in Kansas?
0:02–2:04
2
How does Dr. Latz’s experience as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon shape his political outlook?
2:04–4:55
3
Why does Dr. Latz believe scientists and physicians are under‑represented in Congress?
4:55–7:43
4
What are Dr. Latz’s top policy priorities for future generations of Kansans?
7:43–10:39
5
What specific gun‑safety measures does Dr. Latz propose at the federal level?
10:39–13:45
6
How does Dr. Latz plan to make health care more affordable and accessible in Kansas?
13:45–16:43
7
What is Dr. Latz’s stance on social‑media restrictions and mental‑health protections for youth?
16:43–19:45
8
How does Dr. Latz differentiate himself from the other Democratic Senate candidates?
19:45–22:11
Speakers
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