Former red state governor drops out of 2026 race after Trump endorses rival

TOPEKA — Former Gov. Jeff Colyer ended a Republican campaign Monday for the party’s 2026 nomination for governor in wake of President Donald Trump’s endorsement of rival Senate President Ty Masterson.

Colyer, who was sworn in as governor in 2018 after the resignation of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, was attempting to claim the nomination in 2026 after withdrawing from the race for health reasons in 2022 and falling several hundred votes short of winning the nomination in the 2018 primary.

“My service will continue, but I shall not be a candidate for governor in 2026,” Colyer said in a statement. “I want to thank the tens of thousands who share our vision of a bold, new Kansas; the thousands who contributed and volunteered; and our fantastic staff who took us to every corner of the state.”

“This campaign was never about me,” he said. “Like you, I believe that Kansas can be the beating heart of America once again.”

Masterson, who chose Lansing state Sen. Jeff Klemp to be his running mate, said the April 24 endorsement by Trump was based on careful analysis of the Kansas campaign to select a replacement for Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

“They really did do their due diligence in evaluating the race,” said Masterson, who has served in the Kansas Legislature for 20 years. “He decided to go with a battle-tested conservative leader. That’s really what it came down to. They didn’t want to gamble.”

Masterson said the presidential endorsement two months prior to the Aug. 4 primary meant he had the luxury of choosing a running mate who was the best person to serve as lieutenant governor. Masterson said the goal was to win the August primary and November general election so they could hit the ground running in January 2027.

“I had the luxury of choosing the best man for the job,” Masterson said of Klemp. “I don’t have to have a particular gender or demographic.”

At noon Monday, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, himself a candidate for governor, slammed a ceremonial gavel to mark closure of the window for candidates to file for legislative, state and federal offices in Kansas. Schwab will be on the August ballot with running mate Rep. Ken Rahjes, an Agra Republican.

Businessman Philip Sarnecki talks to reporters June 1, 2026, after filing to run for the Republican nomination for governor alongside running mate Joy Eakins. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Masterson, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt of Topeka and Overland Park businessman Philip Sarnecki joined the throng at the secretary of state’s office for last-day filers. When Colyer chose not to file, his campaign for the GOP nomination automatically came to a close.

Schmidt, on a ticket with Neodesha farmer Joe Newland, who recently resigned as president of Kansas Farm Bureau, said the Legislature must come to terms with its habit of overspending. Schmidt said that in eight years as state insurance commissioner she was able to lower the cost of doing business in Kansas by $100 million.

“If I find half that amount of efficiency in state government, which I don’t think will be that hard, we will be fine,” Schmidt said. “But the Legislature cannot continue to present a budget that spends more than we’re taking in.”

Sarnecki selected Joy Eakins, a one-time Republican candidate for governor, said the duo offered voters the opportunity to elect people with professional business experience who weren’t tied to special interests that dominated politics in the Capitol. He said Trump won Kansas in three consecutive elections, but the past two GOP candidates for governor — Kris Kobach in 2018 and Derek Schmidt in 2022 — failed to defeat Kelly.

He said GOP leadership in the Legislature, including Masterson, failed to deliver on promises to provide significant property tax reform.

“We are running because career politicians have run this state into the ground,” Sarnecki said. “For three straight years, the career politicians in Topeka have promised property tax relief and we have not gotten anything for the people of the state of Kansas. It’s a total disaster.”

The surprise GOP gubernatorial candidate was Nick Reinecker, a marijuana activist in Kansas. His lieutenant governor running mate is his wife, Katy.

“If you are looking for a perfect candidate without blemish, move on,” Reinecker said. “There is a hunger in Kansas for authenticity, accountability and compassion — an insatiable appetite for meaning and purpose beyond being slaves to tyrants and bullies, to vice or to bad economics forced upon them by greedy and unprincipled practitioners of politics.”

Others in the seven-candidate Republican field are Charlotte O’Hara, who is running with Michael Smith of Lansing, and Stacy Rogers, who joined forces with Michelle Dombrosky, a member of the Kansas State Board of Education.

Rogers said Kansas voters should set aside assumptions the GOP race was over given the Trump endorsement.

“Some people will look at that moment and think the race is decided. I disagree, because this campaign was never built by political insiders, power brokers or establishment money,” Rogers said. “It was built by hardworking Kansans who believe our state deserves leadership that listens first to the people living here — not just the loudest voices in politics.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.