A persistent rumor is Sam Brownback will give up most of the last two years of his second term as governor in favor of a minor ambassadorial position in Rome.
Brownback hasn’t confirmed he will join Trump’s team, but various sources continue to hint of its possibility.
What may be unfolding is to give Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer a leg up for the 2018 gubernatorial race. Colyer hasn’t been shy about his interest in the governorship, and being an incumbent, even by succession, would be helpful.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Attorney General Derek Schmidt often are mentioned as likely GOP candidates in 2018. Having to give sway to Colyer for more than a year before the 2018 primary isn’t an appealing thought for either.
However, it might be the better of scenarios for both. Kobach, 50, and Schmidt, 49, have time on their sides. They could spend another term in office and build on their resumes.
A Republican standard bearer would have the unpleasant task of dealing with the immediate GOP-imposed fiscal mess.
Carl Brewer, 60 and former Wichita major, has announced for the Democratic nominaiton.
LIEUTENANT governors aren’t the most visible of elected state officials, though Colyer made the headlines in 2014 when he loaned Brownback’s re-election campaign $500,000.
Colyer was heard from occasionally in defiance of Medicaid expansion, relying on his medical degree to give him credibility. Otherwise, he has been a well-groomed adjunct on most occasions.
He is not without credentials.
Colyer, 56, was in the Kansas House (2007-09) and Senate (2009-2011) before being Brownback’s pick for a running mate in his first gubernatorial race, and recalled for the second.
The son a dentist, Colyer was raised in Hays and earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1981. Colyer’s residency was in general surgery. He then specialized in craniofacial/pediatric plastic surgery.
Later, Colyer immersed himself in party politics serving as a White House Fellow under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
In 1994, Colyer opened a surgery practice in Overland Park. He has volunteered internationally in surgery and to train local doctors in war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa.
As such, there’s no reason to think Colyer has been anything but sincere in this service. Even so, it has provided him with an engaging background for what appears to have been long-term designs on one day sitting in the Kansas governor’s office.
If Brownback does accept an offer to leave his post, the result would be fortuitous for Colyer.
