John C. Peterson

{{Infobox officeholder

| name =

| state_house = Kansas

| constituency= for the 46th (1971–1973) and 55th (1973–1975) districts

| term_start = 1971

| term_end = 1975

| preceded = Roy W. Jaquith

| succeeded = Loren H. Hohman II

| party = Republican

| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|4|15}}

| birth_place = Topeka, Kansas, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|1|8|1948|4|15}}

| death_place =

| father = Cecil "Pete" Peterson

| mother = Helen Lyon

| spouse = {{marriage|Debra Mahoney|1980|1990|end=divorce}}
{{marriage|Michelle Liester|1993}}

| children = 1

}}

John C. Peterson (April 15, 1948 – January 8, 2025) was an American politician from the state of Kansas. He served as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives from 1971 to 1975 and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974.{{cite news|url=https://www.kevinbrennanfamily.com/obituaries/John-C-Peterson/#!/Obituary|title=John C. Peterson|work=Kevin Brennan Family Funeral Home|date=January 13, 2025}}

Life and career

Peterson was born on April 15, 1948, in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Cecil "Pete" and Helen ({{nee|Lyon}}) Peterson. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University and a J.D. from the Washburn University School of Law. In 1970, at the age of 22, he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives from a Topeka-based district. After being re-elected, he chaired the Public Health and Welfare Committee, and ran for Kansas's 2nd congressional district in 1974, winning the Republican primary but losing the general election to Martha Keys.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle/164711880/|title=Peterson Sticks to Issues In 2nd District House Race|work=The Wichita Eagle|date=October 15, 1974}}

Peterson then retired from elective politics, proceeding to practice law for the next 25 years. In 2000, he founded Capitol Strategies LLC, a firm that lobbies the Kansas Legislature. He retired in 2021, and died on January 8, 2025, at the age of 76.

Electoral history

=1970=

==Primary election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas House of Representatives, District 46, 1970 primary election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:{{cite web|url=https://cdm16884.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16884coll129/id/0/rec/5|title=Kansas Election Statistics, 1899-2010|work=Kansas Secretary of State|date=October 13, 2021}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson|votes=1121|percentage=39.4}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Q. B. Low|votes=871|percentage=30.6}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Delores West|votes=332|percentage=11.7}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Tyler Conrad|votes=322|percentage=11.3}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=James W. Morrison|votes=197|percentage=6.9}}

==General election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas House of Representatives, District 46, 1970 general election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson|votes=3508|percentage=55.9}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Robert N. Holmes|votes=2771|percentage=44.1}}

=1972=

==Primary election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas House of Representatives, District 55, 1972 primary election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson *|votes=1978|percentage=100}}

==General election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas House of Representatives, District 55, 1972 general election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson *|votes=4026|percentage=58.9}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=C. Ray Trueblood|votes=2808|percentage=41.1}}

=1972=

==Primary election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas's 2nd congressional district, 1974 primary election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson|votes=27832|percentage=57.6}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Edward F. Reilly Jr.|votes=20446|percentage=42.4}}

==General election==

{{Election box begin no change|title=Kansas's 2nd congressional district, 1974 general election
* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Martha Keys|votes=84864|percentage=55.0}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=John C. Peterson|votes=67650|percentage=43.9}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Prohibition Party|candidate=David Scoggin|votes=1725|percentage=1.1}}

References

Category:1948 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives

Category:20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature

Category:Politicians from Topeka, Kansas