(UPDATED to include comments from Colyer campaign, Schwab campaign, Eakins campaign, Kansans for Life political action committee, Democratic Governors Association)
Ending months of speculation, Republican Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt on Wednesday joined the race for governor.
Schmidt, now concluding her second term as insurance commissioner, became the third major GOP candidate to announce for governor.
Schmidt, a pharmacist, served as a state senator representing Wabaunsee and Shawnee counties from 2005 to 2018 before she was elected insurance commissioner in 2018.
In an interview, Schmidt recalled how two people fell asleep the first time she testified before the Legislature, which drove her to run for office the first time.
“As a taxpayer, I was really disappointed in that and I knew I could do better,” Schmidt said. “I think there are some people in government today that are asleep at the wheel, and I know I can do better.”
Schmidt’s candidacy has been one of the most talked about questions in Kansas politics in recent months, something her new ad makes fun of.
The ad shows her being asked about running for governor everywhere from the pickleball court to the grocery store to the salon to church.
“It really is a big shakeup of the Republican primary because she has been electorally so popular,” said Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty.
“That doesn’t always translate into Republican primary victories, but she enters with a lot of advantages and some disadvantages,” he said.
“Now, it’s sort of officially turns this into one of the most interesting Kansas governor primaries in modern history,” he said.
Schmidt’s announcement made waves across Kansas, drawing statements from two of the major Republican candidates as well as criticism from Kansans for Life and the Democratic Governors Association.
Schmidt was reelected as insurance commissioner in 2022 with more votes in the general election than any other Republican statewide candidate that year.
Schmidt amassed 618,108 votes compared to 580,908 for Secretary of State Scott Schwab who was in a three-way race, 537,488 for Treasurer Steven Johnson, 506,817 for Attorney General Kris Kobach and 477,591 for gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt, who was in a four-way race.
She turned in similar results in 2018 when she collected 643,487 votes compared to 613,644 for then-Attorney General Schmidt, 597,614 for Treasure Jake LaTurner and 548,708 for Schwab, who was in a three-way race that year.
Kobach received 453,030 votes in a five-person race for governor that year.
Schmidt says those numbers demonstrate her electability, shrugging off any idea that she needs to fit nicely into any kind of philosophical box to win the primary.
“I really don’t care what people call me,” she said. “I don’t like to be put in box, and I don’t like to put other people in a box,” she said.
“I just want to be known as the kind of Republican that I am, and that is someone who gets things done,” Schmidt said.
Just this past session, Schmidt pushed a bill through the Legislature allowing her to eliminate appointment renewal fees — $2 for Kansas companies and $5 for out-of-state companies — for 203,525 agents who sell policies in the state.
The elimination of the fee, used to help the agency track who sells insurance, potentially saves $6.5 million for the insurance companies that pay the fees. It will go into effect for tax year 2025.
Schmidt also won passage of a bill allowing her agency to cut the 2% premium tax imposed on insurance companies based on the amount of insurance premiums they sell.
She wants to cut that rate to 1.98%, and the agency will give up the roughly $1.6 million. It starts in January 2026.
Two years ago, Schmidt reduced fees for the securities industry, saving about $8.25 million a year.
Schmidt joins former Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Scott Schwab as the major candidates who have already announced their candidacies for governor.
Senate President Ty Masterson is anticipated to officially announce his candidacy for governor this month, although an announcement has been expected for a while.
Other candidates who have announced include Wichita businesswoman Joy Eakins, conservative podcaster Doug Billings, former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and Republican businesswoman Stacy Rogers.
Meanwhile, Johnson County businessman Philip Sarnecki has been putting together a campaign team, and former Royals General Manager Dayton Moore has been looking at a race, although it remains unclear whether he will run or not.
There is a view, with so many conservatives in the race, that there might be a path for Schmidt if she can carve out enough moderate Republican voters.
Several of those candidates are more decidedly Trumpian than Schmidt, especially Colyer, who been a staunch supporter of the president.
In 2018, Colyer lost the Republican primary in the governor’s race when President Donald Trump endorsed Kobach, who won that race by 343 votes.
Asked about Trump’s support, Schmidt said she didn’t put a lot of stock in endorsements.
“If you ask me if I will work with President Trump, yes, of course, if it means delivering for Kansas,” Schmidt said.
Asked if the GOP had moved more to the right than she was comfortable with, Schmidt said she was a steadfast Republican.
“I think the Republican Party is open to everyone,” she said. “I am a lifelong Republican and I intend on staying one.”
Colyer’s campaign issued a statement saying that the “Never Trumpers” found their candidate in Schmidt.
“Welcome to the race, Vicki Schmidt. NeverTrumpers deserve a candidate too,” Colyer said in a statement.
Schmidt responded with a statement alluding to Colyer’s loss in the 2018 governor’s race.
“Kansas Republicans are ready to take back and win the governor’s office. While I’m grateful for others’ service to our state, it’s time to turn the page and that means uniting behind a proven winner,” she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Schwab issued his own statement.
“Kansans want a conservative who can win in November, deliver true property tax relief, and help our shrinking rural communities,” Schwab said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Kansans for Life’s political action committee issued a statement criticizing Schmidt, saying she had “the worst record on life of any Republican to ever seek office in Kansas.” They said her record on abortion reflected Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s.
Schmidt responded, saying that she thought the U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision when it overturned Roe v. Wade.
“The Supreme Court did the right thing when they sent the decision back to the states,” Schmidt said in a statement.
“Like most Kansans, I don’t think abortions should be on demand like the far left. Like the President, I support reasonable exceptions and that is where most Kansans are at.”
Eakins late Wednesday issued a statement, saying Kansas did not need another governor who supports abortion rights.
“I haven’t criticized the competition. But when a radically pro-abortion candidate jumps into the race as a ‘Republican,’ then I can’t bite my tongue any longer,” she said.
“I am 100% pro-life — that’s a non-negotiable for me. Kansas needs a governor who respects the right to life of every baby, born or unborn.,” Eakins said.
“We cannot have another pro-abortion Governor in Kansas… especially not one claiming to be Republican.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Governors Association joined the fray, saying that Schmidt’s candidacy throws the GOP primary into “extreme chaos.”
“Schmidt brings to this race a disastrous and disqualifying record of voting to enact Sam Brownback’s failed tax experiment that left schools underfunded, gutted infrastructure funding, created a major budget crisis, and drove Kansas’ economy into the ground.”
The Democratic primary for governor, however, still seems unsettled.
Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher has already announced that she’s running for governor. Lawrence attorney Chris Mann has been raising money for another bid for attorney general but was believed to be also looking at running for governor.
But now Mann is believed to be cooling on the idea of running for governor, and now Democratic state Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway is looking hard at running for governor.
Corson has not returned repeated phone calls this week.
Commerce Secretary David Toland had always been considered a leading Democratic candidate to run for governor but has showed no signs of running.
Schmidt recently overcame a bout with breast cancer, something that she discussed with the Sunflower State Journal 2023.
She is one of three candidates for governor – along with Colyer and Schwab – who have battled cancer.
Schmidt said she’s cancer free and ready to go. She called herself the “Bob Barker of mammograms,” alluding to the late game-show host on the “Price is Right.”
“I shared my journey with Kansans because I wanted to stress the importance of early detection and how it could save lives, and it certainly saved mine,” she said.
“My stamina is good and I’m ready to rock n’ roll,” she said.
