# John C. Peterson

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.

## Life and career

Peterson was born on April 15, 1948, in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Cecil "Pete" and Helen (née 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.
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

Kansas House of Representatives, District 46, 1970 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson | 1,121 | 39.4 |
| | Republican | Q. B. Low | 871 | 30.6 |
| | Republican | Delores West | 332 | 11.7 |
| | Republican | Tyler Conrad | 322 | 11.3 |
| | Republican | James W. Morrison | 197 | 6.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,843 | 100 |

#### General election

Kansas House of Representatives, District 46, 1970 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson | 3,508 | 55.9 |
| | Democratic | Robert N. Holmes | 2,771 | 44.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,279 | 100 |

### 1972
#### Primary election

Kansas House of Representatives, District 55, 1972 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson * | 1,978 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,978 | 100 |

#### General election

Kansas House of Representatives, District 55, 1972 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson * | 4,026 | 58.9 |
| | Democratic | C. Ray Trueblood | 2,808 | 41.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,834 | 100 |

### 1972
#### Primary election

Kansas's 2nd congressional district, 1974 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson | 27,832 | 57.6 |
| | Republican | Edward F. Reilly Jr. | 20,446 | 42.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 48,278 | 100 |

#### General election

Kansas's 2nd congressional district, 1974 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Martha Keys | 84,864 | 55.0 |
| | Republican | John C. Peterson | 67,650 | 43.9 |
| | Prohibition | David Scoggin | 1,725 | 1.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 154,239 | 100 |