BY JIM MCLEAN

Josh Svaty picked a political no-name to team with in his run for governor.

But the pick is someone who checks off boxes that Svaty can’t with voters in the Democratic primary and, if things play out right for him, in the general election.

She’s not just a woman; her abortion rights beliefs mitigate his support of some abortion restrictions that don’t play well with many Democrats. He didn’t serve in the military; she brings U.S. Army credentials polished at West Point and honed as a Black Hawk helicopter platoon leader in Iraq.

Katrina Lewison offers business experience in the tech world to balance his time as a member of the Kansas House and as the state’s agriculture secretary.

The pairing gives Svaty a chance to turn some heads as voters start tuning in to the crowded campaign.

“This is a change election,” Svaty said.

Gone, he said, are the days of “two white guys running at the top of the ticket.” That’s his shot at the all-male tickets of the two leading contenders for the Republican nomination, Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Colyer, who served for seven years as lieutenant governor before taking over in January when former Gov. Sam Brownback left to take an ambassador’s job in the Trump administration, installed Salina businessman Tracey Mann as his successor.

Mann, a former director for the National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2010.

Kobach added former rival Wink Hartman to his ticket after the Wichita businessman dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination for governor.

Lewison, who’s five months into a term on the Manhattan school board, said her desire to put Kansas “back on the right path” motivated her to run for statewide office.

“I see this as a chance to step up when Kansas needs leaders the most,” Lewison said.

An abortion rights supporter, Lewison said she wouldn’t have joined the ticket if she and Svaty “weren’t aligned” on the issue.

“Josh has been very clear about his position that he would not further restrict a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices,” she said.

Svaty’s selection of a running mate is the first event in what promises to be a flurry of campaign activity between now and June 1, the date by which all major party candidates for statewide office and the Kansas House must file with the secretary of state’s office.

The campaign of state Sen. Laura Kelly, another perceived frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, says she will name her running mate “late next week” and file the following week.

Several other declared candidates for the Democratic nomination have yet to make their campaigns official. They include former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, Olathe physician Arden Andersen and former FBI agent Michael Tabman. Salina salesman Robert Klingenberg has named a running mate but hasn’t yet filed.

Wichita high school student Jack Bergeson is the only Democratic hopeful to have both chosen a running mate and filed his candidacy with the secretary of state’s office.

Two prominent Republican candidates — former state Sen. Jim Barnett and Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer — must also round out their tickets and file before the deadline.

Several teenage candidates running for the GOP nomination must do the same. They include, Tyler Ruzich, Dominic Scavuzzo and Joseph Tutera, Jr.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — A Kansas man injured in a weekend motorcycle accident has died.

On Saturday, deputies, along with Shawnee Heights Fire Department and American Medical Response (AMR) personnel, were dispatched  to 3500 SE Croco Road for an injury accident, according to Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.

The accident involved a motorcycle driven by Anthony J. Forshee, 28, Berryton, and a Fed Ex delivery truck.  The motorcycle was north in the 3500 block of SE Croco Road and the Fed Ex truck was south turning to go east on SE 35^th when they collided.

AMR transported Forshee to Stormont Vail Hospital where he died.  The driver of the Fed Ex truck was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation, according to Stallbaumer.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The stepmother of a 5-year-old Wichita boy who has been missing since February has been acquitted of child endangerment in an unrelated case involving her own daughter.

A jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning the not guilty verdict Wednesday in the case of Emily Glass.

Glass has been on trial this week for reportedly smoking marijuana and then driving with her 1-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors argued Glass admitted smoking weed in law enforcement interviews. The defense argued there was no physical evidence proving she had smoked spot or that it affected her driving.

Glass has not been charged in the Feb. 17 disappearance of her stepson, Lucas Hernandez. Glass told police the boy was gone from his bedroom when she woke from a nap.

DICKINSON COUNTY — A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Monday in Dickinson County.

A vehicle driven by Colin M. Henderson, 17, Chapman, was traveling in the 3200 Block of Rain Road, according to Sheriff Garreth Hoffman.

The vehicle left the road and hit a culvert for a field or driveway entrance. The vehicle overturned and Henderson was ejected, according to Hoffman.

The teenager had just graduated from Chapman High School on Sunday.

The sheriff confirmed that there was no indication of any alcohol or drugs at the scene of the accident.

ELKHART, Kan. (AP) — Wildlife experts say a male, juvenile bear found dead in southwest Kansas might have been driven into the state by drought conditions in surrounding states.

The bear died Monday in an accidental crash on Highway 56 near Elkhart in Morton County, about 1.5 miles from the Oklahoma border.

State biologist Kraig Schulz says spring wildfires in New Mexico and Colorado combined with a region-wide drought might be pushing bears toward Kansas.

He says even in those conditions, it’s rare to find a black bear in Kansas. The last confirmed black bear in Morton County was in 2011. Another one was seen in 2016 just across the Oklahoma line.

Almost the entire Oklahoma panhandle is in exceptional drought, along with parts of southwest Kansas and northeast New Mexico.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating 3 suspects on various charges after a raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

On Tuesday morning as part of a drug investigation, authorities served a search warrant at a home in the 1700 Block of SE Quincy in Topeka, according to Lieutenant Andrew Beightel.

Police arrested a woman for possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. They arrested one man for possession of a stolen firearm and another man for outstanding warrants, according to Beightel.

Police released no names and no additional details.  Anyone with information on the location or