State Sen. John Doll has moved back to the Republican Party, saying he wants to help shoulder some of the committee workload.
Doll on Friday confirmed he re-registered as a Republican after leaving the GOP last year to become an independent and join Greg Orman’s campaign for governor.
“I was doing it for no other reason than to help with the workload,” Doll said of the party change. “It’s not a big story. I want to help my fellow senators out.”
The Orman/Doll ticket finished a distant third in the governor’s race behind Democrats Laura Kelly and Lynn Rogers and Republicans Kris Kobach and Wink Hartman.
When Doll left the Republican Party to become an independent, he had to give up his committee assignments in the Senate.
Under Senate rules, Doll could not serve on those committees because only major political parties make up the committee structure.
He said he has no regrets about running for lieutenant governor on Orman’s ticket.
“I will go to my grave believing that Greg Orman was the best governor candidate,” Doll said. “I believe in his vision still to this day. I thought he would be the best answer for the entire state, not just for part of the state.”
But Doll emphasized that when he left the GOP to join up with Orman, he shared no ill will toward the Republican Party.
“When I left the Republican Party, it wasn’t that I had any issues, anger (or) any philosophical differences,” he said. “I had the opportunity to run with (someone) who I thought was a once-in-a-lifetime candidate. So I took that opportunity.”
Doll was elected to the Senate in 2016. He defeated Republican incumbent Larry Powell with 52% of the vote that year and then won the general election with 79% of the vote to capture the 39th District.
Before joining the Senate, Doll served two terms in the House, was mayor of Garden City and served as a city commissioner.
Senate President Susan Wagle greeted Doll warmly back into the Republican fold.
“I am pleased to welcome John back to the Republican Party,” Wagle said in a statement. “Clearly, he ran as a Republican and prefers to caucus and interact with his Republican colleagues. The ‘Welcome Home’ sign will be hanging.”
Doll said he talked to Senate leadership about changing parties so he could help carry some of the committee work. He said he could have remained as an independent if leadership had turned away his offer.
Doll’s term in the Senate is up next year. He said he hasn’t decided whether to seek re-election. He stressed that changing parties was not politically driven.
If he does run again and is criticized for switching parties, Doll said he’ll understand.
“If that’s a big deal for them, they probably won’t vote for me and I don’t blame them,” he said. “I’ve been a public official now 13 years…show me one vote that wasn’t for my area in those 13 years regardless of political party. I’m a localist.”
Doll played down the significance of his party change.
“This, to me, is not a deal,” he said. “I am trying to take some of the work load off of my fellow senators.
“Some people aren’t going to buy it,” he said, “but that’s not my problem.”
