BY: TIM CARPENTER
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Former Attorney General Derek Schmidt continued to consolidate support in the Republican primary for the open 2nd District congressional seat by adding the endorsement of former GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer.
The support of Colyer was significant given that former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who preceded Colyer as governor in Kansas, endorsed Republican candidate Jeff Kahrs in May. Kahrs served in the Brownback administration, and both Brownback and Kahrs were appointees in the administration of President Donald Trump.
Colyer, chairman of the Trump presidential campaign in Kansas, was elected lieutenant governor twice on the same ticket with Brownback. Colyer’s announcement less than one week before the Aug. 6 primary followed Trump’s endorsement of Schmidt.
“Derek Schmidt and I have been in the trenches together for years fighting for our conservative values and Kansas common sense,” Colyer said. “Republicans are coming together around Derek in this race.”
Colyer was sworn into office as governor in 2018 after Brownback resigned to become ambassador of religious freedom in the Trump administration. Colyer ran for a full term, but lost a close race for the GOP nomination to Kris Kobach. In that campaign, Trump endorsed Kobach. And, Kobach went on to lose the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly. She replaced Colyer in January 2019.
“Governor Colyer knows what it takes to be a conservative leader who gets things done, and I’m grateful to have his endorsement,” Schmidt said. “Kansas needs a conservative fighter in Congress who can help make a difference for America’s future.”
The eastern Kansas congressional seat is open because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican from Topeka, decided not to seek reelection in 2024.
In addition to Schmidt and Kahrs, Republicans taking part in the primary can choose from among candidates Michael Ogle of Topeka, Sean Tiffany of and Chad Young of Lawrence. The Democratic Party primary is a race between Matt Kleinmann of Kansas City, Kansas, and Nancy Boyda of Baldwin City.