Brief Biographies of GOP Insurance Candidates

Republican candidates for insurance commissioner:

NAME: David J. Powell.

AGE: 56.

HOMETOWN: El Dorado.

EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in education, University of Nebraska, 1968.

EXPERIENCE: Taught high school math and economics for 10 years; has operated insurance agency and financial consulting and planning service for 25 years in El Dorado.

PERSONAL: Married, with grown son and daughter; has coached El Dorado High School divers for 25 years.

NAME: Sandy Praeger.

AGE: 57.

HOMETOWN: Lawrence.

EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in education, University of Kansas, 1966.

EXPERIENCE: Health care consultant; served on Lawrence City Commission, 1985-89; mayor of Lawrence, 1986-87; member, Kansas House, 1991-92; member, Kansas Senate since 1992; chairwoman, Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee since 2001.

PERSONAL: Married, two children.

NAME: Bryan Riley.

AGE: 37.

HOMETOWN: Wichita.

EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in economics, Kansas State University, 1987; graduate degree in economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1989.

EXPERIENCE: Worked for conservative research group, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Washington, 1989-96, starting as a policy analyst and rising to director of budget policy; executive director, Kansas Public Policy Institute, 1996-98; Republican nominee for insurance commissioner, 1998; operates long-term care insurance business in Wichita.

PERSONAL: Single.