Wichita oilman Wink Hartman says he’s ruled out a bid for the U.S. Senate and is now seriously considering a run for governor in 2022.
In an interview with the Sunflower State Journal this week, Hartman placed the chances of running for governor at 90%.
“I am positioning myself to be available and run for that office,” he said. “Today, I cannot see anything on the horizon that would make me change my mind.”
Hartman had been considering a run for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, but has decided against running for federal office.
“The Senate would be a worthy position and I would love to serve the people,” Hartman said. “I think I could do much more for the people of Kansas by staying in Kansas.”
Two years ago, Hartman ran for lieutenant governor on a ticket with former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is now running for the U.S. Senate.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and her running mate, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, beat the Kobach/Hartman ticket.
Hartman put more than $2 million into Kobach’s campaign. He said he would self fund a gubernatorial campaign if needed.
“My ego says I don’t have to be governor. I don’t have to be lieutenant governor. But I want to be in a position where I can do some good,” Hartman said.
“I feel that’s my best place.”
Kelly’s office declined to comment late Thursday afternoon.
Hartman originally planned to run for governor in 2017 but later abandoned that campaign after reportedly putting in about $1.6 million of his own money. He joined up as Kobach’s running mate in 2018.
Hartman has already been targeting Kelly on social media, criticizing her proposals to restructure payments to the state retirement system and bringing social services into one agency.
“The governor’s budget proposal does not address our state’s spending problem and does not address bringing more efficiency to state government,” Hartman tweeted.
“The budget also puts KPERS in peril and opens the door to not fully funding our transportation needs,” he tweeted.
The Kelly administration had stressed that the reamortization plan does not put the retirement system in jeopardy. It compares it to a family’s decision to refinance a house in order to free up money for other needs.
Kansas City political consultant Colin Hoffman, who informally advised Hartman on a potential Senate race, said a lot can develop between now and 2022.
“It’s a long time away and there’s a ton of stuff that can change between now and then,” Hoffman said. “I think everyone and their brother is going to run for governor in two years.”
There’s already speculation that former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer might be interested in running for governor in 2022.
Kelly is now entering her second year as governor with relatively good approval numbers and a party that energetically supports her.
At the end of the third quarter last year, Kelly’s approval rating had climbed to 52%, compared to 49% in the second quarter and 43% in the first quarter.
About 23% disapproved of Kelly while 25% said they didn’t know. Overall, Kelly’s net approval rating was at 29 percentage points.
