Brownback’s Resignation Shakes Up Kansas Politics
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) stepped down from office on January 31st, 2018 to become the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
Brownback served as Governor since 2011, becoming unpopular in recent years due to his revoking of anti-LGBTQ discrimination protection policies, along with his slashing of school budgets because of deficit-inducing tax cuts in Kansas. His ambassadorship was narrowly secured with a tied 49-49 vote in the United States Senate that was broken by Vice President Mike Pence, with no Democrats supporting his nomination. Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) will carry out the remainder of Brownback’s term. With Brownback out and new elections occurring this fall, Kansas faces an uncertain political future.
Mr. Colyer is expected to ask the voters to keep him in office for a full term, while the Democrats have two candidates vying to challenge him, Carl Brewer and Josh Svaty. But the favorite may be Independent candidate Greg Orman, who nearly defeated Republican Pat Roberts in the race to represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate in 2014. Orman’s run challenges the status quo of the two-party system. Also notable is the surprising candidacies of six Kansas teenagers who used a loophole regarding age requirements to run for lead executive of the state. The teenagers take different political stances, but all of them are quite serious. However, a bill drafted by Rep. Blake Carpenter (R) will set an age requirement of 18 years to be eligible to run for governor.
