There will be a race for the second district seat on the Geary County Commission.

County Clerk Rebecca Bossemeyer confirmed Wednesday morning that Charles Stimatze, Republican, has filed for election. He will challenge the incumbent candidate, Larry Hicks, Democrat, for the second district seat on the commission.

Stimatze paid the filing fee for his election bid.

Larry Hicks initially filed by petition last Friday, but Bossemeyer confirmed that some signatures were ruled invalid, leaving him without enough valid signatures. “There were a variety of reasons. There were people who were Republican and unaffiliated that signed his petition. You had to be a Democrat because that’s the nomination that he’s seeking. And you also have to live in that county commission district,and there were a number of people who signed it that did not live in the district.”