Former Gov. Jeff Colyer said this week that he will not be running for U.S. Senate in 2020, but he is encouraging Jake LaTurner, state treasurer, to run for the 2nd Congressional District seat in 2020.
Colyer, an Overland Park physician, plans to be a fall 2019 Fellow at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service in Washington, D.C., his alma mater, according to a news release. Colyer also is on call as a surgeon at hospitals in the Kansas City area and has several projects in the private sector.
“I appreciate all the encouragement I have received since Senator Roberts announced that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election in 2020. Right now I am doing some interesting things in private sector and in medicine.” Dr. Colyer said in a news release. He plans to continue his service to the state in the future, he added.
In a news release on Tuesday, Colyer called on LaTurner to end his campaign for the U.S. Senate and instead seek the nomination for the U.S. House, 2nd District – a district with a Republican incumbent. LaTurner is from southeast Kansas and is currently a resident of Topeka.
“The fact is we have too many candidates in the Senate race and a need for an improved candidate in the Second District. This would help our state in two ways—by giving us a viable conservative option in the Second District and helping to clear the logjam in the Senate race,” Colyer said in the news release.
The 2nd District currently is represented by Republican Steve Watkins, a conservative, who has not said that he is not running.
Colton Gibson, Colyer’s former special assistant, said that running for office in 2020 is out of the picture for the former governor, but 2022 is another story. Another U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s seat are up for election in 2022, and Colyer is looking at 2022, he said.
However, Colyer is not considering a run for the 3rd Congressional District, Gibson said. He has run for that office before, in 2002. Adam Taff won the Republican nomination that year by about 2,800 votes over Colyer, losing to incumbent Democrat Congressman Dennis Moore in the general election.
Colyer was lieutenant governor when former Gov. Sam Brownback stepped down to accept an appointment in 2018. Colyer lost the GOP governor primary to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach by 343 votes in a seven-candidate race. Kobach lost the general election to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Kobach announced in July he would be a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in 2020, and arguably has the best name recognition of six Republicans who currently are being mentioned for the office. Susan Wagle, Kansas Senate president, is another well-known GOP candidate.
On the Democratic side, Barry Grissom, former U.S. attorney, and Nancy Boyda, former U.S. representative from the 2nd District, are among the candidates.