Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday reinforced her support for Democratic state Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway in the governor’s race after Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog joined the race Monday as a Democrat.
“I endorsed Ethan Corson to be the next governor because he is the only candidate, Republican or Democrat, who has what it takes to keep Kansas on track,” Kelly said in a statement.
“Ethan is smart, focused, and battle-tested. He is also a man of great integrity whom Kansans can trust to listen, to work hard and to fight on their behalf,” she said.
“A thrown-together, last minute, opportunistic attempt to divert my whole-hearted endorsement or that of others who know, for the sake of our children, our businesses and our state, that Ethan Corson must be the next governor of Kansas, is foolhardy.”
Skoog met with the governor on Friday before moving ahead with his campaign for governor. The governor and her chief of staff, Will Lawrence, discouraged him from running.
There is a line of thinking that a Skoog candidacy could hurt Corson’s drive for the Democratic nomination.
Skoog and Corson would likely compete for the same institutional Democratic donors and supporters – the establishment, if you will – while rival Sen. Cindy Holscher has been courting the party’s progressive wing.
It’s believed that a Skoog candidacy will further diminish Johnson County’s political significance in the primary since there are so many candidates from there – three on the Republican side and three on the Democratic side – running for governor.
And a diluted Johnson County elevates the significance of voters in Topeka and Wichita, which aids Holscher, who has a running mate from Wichita.
“The governor made it absolutely, abundantly clear to him that she is supporting Ethan Corson,” Lawrence said in a brief interview describing the meeting he and the governor had with Skoog on Friday.
“She does not believe that Skoog has any ability to win this primary, especially in 60 days,” he said.
“She is, in no circumstances, going to change her support,” he said.
Skoog also conferred with former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who said through a spokesperson that they have known each other for years.
Skoog said he decided to get in the race because he believed that the campaign needed to go in a different direction to keep the Republicans from capturing the governor’s office.
“We had two candidates in the race, and neither one was getting traction,” he said.
“After studying the race and talking to lots of people across the state, we all thought that we needed a different traction in the race to beat Ty Masterson,” Skoog said of the Senate president who recently was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Kelly will be in Olathe on Tuesday night to campaign for Corson.
The governor will be joined by Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United; and Emily Wales, president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.
The event was billed as Women for Ethan.
