Two Republican candidates announced their plans for seeking office in Topeka in 2012, Thursday.

69th district representative Tom Arpke will be seeking the 24th district senate seat now held by Pete Brungardt. Brungardt narrowly defeated Arpke for the seat in the 2008 GOP primary.

Aprke won election to the Kansas House just over a year ago, and is a former Salina City Commissioner.

J.R. Claeys would like to replace Arpke in the Kansas House. Claeys who was a primary candidate for Kansas Secretary of State in 2008, currently is a member of the Kansas GOP Executive Committee.

In a press release, Arpke says he supports reforming the Kansas tax codes to ease the tax burden on Kansas families and businesses.

In his media release announcing his run for office, Claeys says the 69th District has been hit hard by a weak economy, and it is time to create an environment in Kansas where small businesses can create the jobs that are needed.