(Updated to include a new statement from spokesperson)
Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer is endorsing Donald Trump for president, saying he “could be transformative for the health and wellbeing of every American.”
In a column published by Newsweek, Colyer said he met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida where they talked about health challenges facing the country.
“Most people don’t realize how much President Trump did for health care in his first term, but he has a remarkable record,” Colyer said in his column.
“But what is more important is the road ahead. He made it clear he intends to follow through for the American people,” he said.
It was unclear whether the meeting and the endorsement was a sign of Colyer laying the groundwork for running for governor in 2026.
Five years ago, Trump endorsed Kris Kobach over Colyer in the Republican primary for governor, less than 24 hours before polls opened on Election Day.
Trump’s endorsement was seen as a tipping point that turned the primary in Kobach’s favor in a race he won by 343 votes.
“Dr. Colyer is committed to community service as an active trauma surgeon in KC, he’s concerned about the direction of the state and will look at the race at the appropriate time,” spokesperson Colton Gibson said in an email.
As a physician and a survivor of prostate cancer, Colyer said he believes Trump would continue to lower drug prices, create price transparency in health care and effectively battle the opioid and drug overdose epidemics.
Meanwhile, Trump is mired in legal battles where he’s been indicted in four separate cases, including one in Georgia where he’s been accused of organizing a “criminal enterprise to reverse the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Nevertheless, most national polls show Trump leading the Republican primary field as well as President Joe Biden.
Colyer’s endorsement comes about four months before Kansas is set to hold its presidential primary on March 19.
Political parties have until Dec. 1 to opt out of the primary, but Democrats and Republicans have both indicated they plan to hold a primary that will be funded by the state.
Trump is the only presidential candidate to have filed for office in Kansas, although others are expected to file after Dec. 1.
The Republican field still includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Representing himself, a Texas man running for the Republican nomination for president has filed a federal lawsuit trying to keep the former president off the ballot.
The lawsuit contends that the former president is disqualified because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol.
Filed in September, the lawsuit is still pending in federal court
The lawsuit contends Trump can’t run for president because the 14th Amendment says no one can hold office who has taken an oath of office to support the Constitution and then “engage in insurrection or rebellion” or helped those who did.
The lawsuit is based on a law review article authored by two conservative legal scholars.
The article – published by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review – contends that Section Three of the 14th Amendment forbids former elected officials from holding office if they participate in insurrection or rebellion.
“Because of a range of misperceptions and mistaken assumptions, Section Three’s full legal consequences have not been appreciated or enforced,” the law professors argue.
“We think that if these constitutional duties are taken seriously, there is a list of candidates and officials who must face judgment under Section Three.
“Former president Donald Trump is at the top of that list, but he is not the end of it.”
