Kansas Chamber of Commerce President Alan Cobb ended weeks of speculation Thursday, announcing he would not run for the U.S. Senate.
“My passion is Kansas,” Cobb said in a statement.
“Outside of my family, the next most important thing for me is the prosperity of my home state, Kansas, and the prosperity of everyone that lives and works here.
“Advocating, supporting and fighting for Kansas is what I have done my entire career, and even before my career started, as a student.”
Cobb’s announcement came hours after former Congresswoman Nancy Boyda withdrew from the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.
“We have to find a way to bring this country together,” Boyda said in a statement posted on her campaign’s Facebook page. “I have said over and over, that I will not just talk about it or make promises, I will show you what that looks like.”
After closing out the campaign, Boyda said she would start a nonprofit organization with the goal of bringing people together, “but this time without the restraints of a partisan campaign.”
Word had been circulating in recent days that Cobb, a conservative business advocate who worked for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, would not run for the U.S. Senate.
Speculation about Cobb’s future had been rampant, especially after he had been seen meeting with political consultants at a Topeka coffee house and visiting the White House during a recent trip to Washington.
Cobb, meanwhile, said he will remain at the helm of the Kansas chamber, fighting to reduce taxes, trim regulations and promote economic growth in a state he says grows slower than the rest of the country. “There is no better place to face these tests than at the Kansas Chamber.
“The Kansas Chamber always has been an incredibly important institution for the betterment of Kansas and Kansas businesses,” he said. “I am fortunate to lead this effort as the Chamber President and CEO.
Cobb’s decision leaves the Republican primary field to Senate President Susan Wagle, Congressman Roger Marshall, former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Johnson County Commissioner David Lindstrom and conservative commentator Bryan Pruitt.
Boyda’s withdrawal leaves former U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom and Manhattan Mayor Pro Tem Usha as the primary candidates on the Democratic side.
