A conservative podcaster who made an unsuccessful attempt to run for a seat on the state Republican Party leadership team says he’s running for governor.
Doug Billings, who has been described as “one of the most recognized and trusted voices of MAGA conservatism in America,” announced in a new video that he’s running for governor.
He claims a monthly audience of 2 million people on his show called “The Right Side.”
Calling himself a “MAGA conservative Republican,” Billings promised to run as a gubernatorial candidate who stands for “faith” and “freedom.”
He called for prayer in schools, promised to eliminate “pornographic material” he said was in schools and would end the “LGBT kook movement” in Kansas.
He said only an American flag would be flown in schools and said he would have used the National Guard to keep Satanists from gathering at the Capitol.
He suggested the idea of creating a voluntary militia – men from the age of 21 to 45 – to help the National Guard keep the peace in Kansas.
“We’re going to make God first in Kansas, ladies and gentleman,” Billings said during a roughly nine-minute video posted Sunday.
“I’m going to restore divine providence in the Founding Fathers’ original intent,” he said.
“Prayer in schools. Defending our Judeo-Christian heritage and values, ensuring that state policies reflect our spiritual foundation and the traditional family values that built Kansas and America,” he said.
“Kansas is the heartbeat of the moral pulse of America and we will not let her, Kansas, slide any further into the woke, liberal progressive nonsense that we’ve seen over the last eight years with communi-socialist Laura Kelly at the helm,” he said.
Billings would be facing a field that now includes Secretary of State Scott Schwab, former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and Republican businesswoman Stacy Rogers.
There are a number of Republican candidates who have been mentioned as possible candidates for governor.
They include former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Senate President Ty Masterson, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, Wichita businesswoman Joy Eakins and former Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore.
As of Monday morning, Billings had not yet appointed a treasurer to raise money to run for governor.
Touching on current events, Billings said as governor he would have used the National Guard to keep the Satanists from congregating at the Capitol last week.
“That black mass wouldn’t have taken place if I were governor of the state of Kansas,” he said. “We have come so far from what the founders intended. The founders didn’t mean to wrap Satanism in the blanket of free speech and freedom of religion
“People in those days who did that were burned at the stake,” he said. “I’m not advocating that we execute these people, but I am suggesting these actions don’t take place on public property, state property.”
Billings most recently ran on a slate of MAGA candidates for leadership in the state GOP but lost to the slate led by new party chair Danedri Herbert 121-56. Billings ran for vice chair.
Billings promises to launch a Kansas version of Elon Musk’s DOGE committee, although something similar was set up in the Kansas Senate this year.
He promised to eliminate property taxes without acknowledging Republican efforts and their struggles to cut property taxes during this year’s legislative session.
He says he will ban foreign countries from buying land in Kansas, although the Legislature this year took steps to limit foreign adversaries from acquiring land in Kansas.
He said he would sign a bill a banning abortion when a heartbeat could be detected, but didn’t acknowledge the state Supreme Court’s decision that found the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
He also promises to pursue other policies that have been enacted in Kansas, including a bill banning transgender female athletes from competing in interscholastic sports for women or girls at any public school or postsecondary educational institution.
