A former member of the Wichita school board and a businesswoman has announced she’s running for governor in the Republican primary.
Joy Eakins, who is founder and president of Cornerstone Data Inc., is joining a race that already includes major candidates such as former Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
“Kansas is at a crossroads,” Eakins said Wednesday in a statement announcing her candidacy.
“The dawn of America’s Golden Age is here thanks to President Trump. But Kansas is behind, and Kansans could miss this historic opportunity.
“I’m running for governor to lead the ‘Kansas Comeback.’”
Eakins enters the race with former Kansas Republican National Committeewoman Kim Borchers as her treasurer.
Borchers also served a deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Sam Brownback.
Eakins served on the Wichita school board from 2013 to 2018 and was chair of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
In 2015, her business won the Wichita chamber’s Small Business of the Year title.
Eakins has a master’s in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado, a master’s of theological studies from Gateway Seminary and a bachelor’s in mathematics with a minor in computer science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Eakins describes herself as pro-life, supportive of guns rights, and supportive of school choice, “educational freedom” and “medical freedom,” saying that families have the right to make medical decisions for themselves and their children.
Senate President Ty Masterson is expected to join the field, possibly later this month, although Eakins’ entry into the race could raise questions about whether she could eat into Masterson’s south-central Kansas base of support.
Meanwhile, Johnson County businessman Philip Sarnecki has been putting together a campaign team.
Other candidates who could join the Republican field include Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and former Royals General Manager Dayton Moore.
Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and Republican businesswoman Stacy Rogers have each appointed treasurers to run for governor but have not officially filed to run for the office.
Conservative podcaster Doug Billings is the only Republican candidate to officially have filed to run for the seat.
The Republican primary field could number as many as nine to 10 candidates, leading the state GOP to write rules for Republican-sanctioned debates that would likely limit access to the most viable candidates.
The candidates will have to meet one of the following four conditions as reported on their Jan. 10, 2026, campaign finance report:
- $500,000 cash on hand
- $250,000 cash on hand with at least $1,000 from 80 different Kansas counties
- $250,000 cash on hand with 800 individual donations of $100 or more from 800 individual Kansas voters.
- $250,000 cash on hand with no more than 50% raised from any congressional district or less than 10% from any congressional district.
The party will hold no more than two debates before June 1, 2026, and no more than
two debates after June 1, 2026.
