(UPDATED to include comments from Skoog addressing the media on Monday; includes comment from governor’s chief of staff)
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog on Monday filed to run for governor as a Democrat, potentially shaking up a Democratic primary that’s been dominated by two major candidates so far.
Skoog’s last-minute entrance into the race introduces a new unknown variable into a Democratic primary that has been dominated by Democratic Sens. Ethan Corson of Fairway and Cindy Holscher of Overland Park.
He said his candidacy was fueled by watching a “dysfunctional” Legislature struggle to improve the affordability or the quality of life for Kansans
“It really motivated me to consider running for governor,” he said.
“As a mayor, I am focused on serving my neighbors and residents every day, 365 days a year,” he said.
“We build roads and bridges. We build parks. We balance budgets,” he said.
“When I watched the dysfunctional Legislature, I thought we needed a mayor in the governor’s office.”
He filed with Jennifer Bacani McKenney of Fredonia as his running mate.
McKenney has owned and managed Fredonia Family Care along with her father since 2009 and was named the 2021 Rural Health Practitioner of the Year by the National Rural Health Association.
She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas and her medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center.
She previously served on the Fredonia Board of Education for nine years.
During the pandemic at one point, McKenney was the school board president, the county health officer and a family physician at the same time.
Skoog said he believed the state needs someone outside the Legislature to lead the state when asked about what issues he might have had with Corson or Holscher.
“Being a mayor, brings a whole different perspective to what it takes to run a state like this,” he said.
“A dysfunctional Legislature is not a recipe for success in the governor’s office,” he said.
“We are going to bring the success of our experience at the local level to the governor’s office to make sure that Kansas is able to move forward, build consensus and make sure we build a state that our kids and grandkids want to come back to and stay in,” he said.
He added that 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.
“That’s when it really hit me that we need a mayor in the governor’s office who knows how to get things done,” he told reporters.
Word about a Skoog candidacy started circulating Friday with lots of talk in political circles about him meeting with various top Democrats in the state.
He met with Gov. Laura Kelly and her chief of staff, Will Lawrence, on Friday to discuss his plans to run for governor. They discouraged him from running for governor.
“The governor made it absolutely, abundantly clear to him that she is supporting Ethan Corson,” Lawrence said in a brief interview.
“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.
He also conferred with former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who said through spokesperson that they have known each other for years.
It was immediately murky about who Skoog might help or hurt by entering the race.
In one sense, it was believed he might hurt Holscher because he would draw heavily from Johnson County, where they both are established and well known.
In another sense, it is believed it could hurt Corson because he and the mayor would be going after the same institutional Democratic donors and supporters – the establishment, if you will – while 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.
Skoog was elected Overland Park’s mayor in 2021 after serving 16 years on the City Council.
Skoog defeated challenger Faris Farassati with about 70% of the vote in the 2025 general election.
He squeezed by Mike Czinege in the 2021 general election by 713 votes, or about 51% of the vote.
Skoog had been registered as an independent but became a Democrat after he won the 2021 election.
Overland Park has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state during this decade.
The latest Census Bureau estimates show the city had a population of 203,677 as of July 1 of last year.
The city’s population has climbed about 3%, or roughly 5,800 people, since July 1, 2020.
The city had an operating budget of $201.7 million for 2026, half of which was for public safety.
Skoog will be faced with the immediate of challenge of raising lots of money and fast since Holscher and Corson have already been raising money for months and the primary is set for Aug. 4.
Corson reported raising about $902,600 during 2025.
He had about $527,000 in cash on hand at the end of the year.
Holscher reported raising about $398,000 and had about $180,000 in cash on hand.
The next campaign finance reports aren’t due until July 27, so it’s unclear how much Holscher and Corson have raised since the beginning of the year.
The Corson campaign issued a statement in response to the possibility that Skoog would file Monday.
“This campaign is built on a simple belief: Kansans deserve a leader who listens, works hard, and brings people together to get results,” spokesperson Glynnis Harvey said in an email.
“Over the past ten months, Ethan’s traveled across the state, meeting with communities large and small and building a movement for a new generation of leadership.
“He’s earned the endorsements of trusted Kansas leaders such Governor Kelly, Planned Parenthood, and labor.
“As governor, Ethan will protect abortion rights, stand up to ICE, and fight back against Trump or anyone who threatens our freedoms.
“With Republicans now rallying around Ty Masterson after Trump’s endorsement, Ethan is the only candidate in this race who can defeat the divisive, hate-filled, and ineffective MAGA agenda coming to Kansas.”
Holscher’s campaign also responded to a Skoog candidacy.
“Cindy Holscher is the only candidate in this race on either side of the aisle who has a track record of taking on corporate interests and fighting for ordinary Kansans,” said campaign manager Madi Ashcraft.
“She’s also the only Democrat in the race who has flipped red areas, and the only Democrat running who took on Sam Brownback and won,” Ashcraft said in an email.
“Cindy is building a grassroots campaign that excites voters and will defeat Ty Masterson in the fall. Kansans aren’t looking for another establishment guy in the race — they already have enough of those.”
