Kansas Republican senate president announces 2026 gubernatorial bid
Republicans are keen to recapture the governor's office in GOP-leaning Kansas after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won a second four-year term in 2022. Kelly is term-limited and cannot run again.
Masterson, a small-business owner, has been a state senator representing a district in eastern Kansas since 2009. He became Senate president in 2021. He previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008.
Other Republicans in the 2026 governor's race include Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who built his public profile pushing back against unfounded election conspiracy theories, and former Gov. Jeff Colyer.
Colyer was elevated to the office for about a year in 2018 after former Gov. Sam Brownback resigned. He failed to get past the primary in that year's gubernatorial election, then entered the 2022 governor's race but dropped out early after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Longtime Franklin County Board of Elections member Kimberly Marinello has died of cancer
Longtime Franklin County Board of Elections member Kimberly E. Marinello has died at 72 from brain cancer, according to her fellow board members. Marinello served on the board since 2008 and she died on July 18, said her fellow Democrat on the board, Mike Sexton. "Just an outstanding, dedicated Democrat," Sexton said of Marinello. "Her work was meticulous. She's very efficient and she's been one of the most loyal Democrats I have ever met." Sexton said Marinello was diagnosed with cancer just about a month ago at the end of June. That's when she stepped down from her role as treasurer for the Franklin County Democratic Party, a role she had held since 2003. Now, the county party has 15 days to nominate a replacement to the county board of elections for the Ohio Secretary of State to approve. In Ohio, county boards of elections are made up of two Republicans and two Democrats. The county party already had a meeting scheduled for the evening of July 22, so Sexton said the party will vote then on a nominee. Doug Preisse, a Republican and chairman of the Franklin County Board of Elections, told the Dispatch that the whole board is saddened and Marinello was a truly decent person. "For the many years I served with Kim, while she was always a loyal Democrat, she was first and foremost a loyal public servant," Preisse said. "She looked out for the best interest of Franklin County voters. It was a pleasure and honor to serve next to her." More local government news: Columbus Council poised to reject fire truck contract amid Dublin company's worker strike Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@ Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Longtime Franklin County Board of Elections member, a Democrat, dead Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Young Kim draws another Democratic challenger in California
A 26-year-old Democratic labor organizer calling for a 'new generation' of leadership in Washington will announce his campaign Monday to unseat GOP Rep. Young Kim in California's Orange County. Perry Meade joins a wide field of challengers running for the 40th District seat held by Kim, one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's top targets in the state. Kim won the seat by more than 10 percentage points in 2024. But the district has swung back and forth in recent years, with Joe Biden winning it in 2020 before Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris by more than two percentage points there in 2024. Meade, the youngest member of the Democratic Party of Orange County's central committee, is making affordability the thrust of his campaign. In a campaign launch video, he asks, 'Can we just catch a fucking break?' Meade, a labor organizer with UNITE HERE Local 11, said in an interview that he wants to see a Democratic Party in Congress that "unapologetically" fights for affordability, adding that he feels a responsibility to 'fight back.' He took aim at the Trump administration's deployment last month of the National Guard to immigration raid protests in Los Angeles, as well as recent crackdowns at farms and businesses. 'I think it's time that we have a new generation of leaders as well, and a new generation of leaders that has this lived experience and is willing to fight in the halls of Congress to deliver on these things that our community needs,' said Meade, the West Coast regional organizer at March For Our Lives. The Rancho Santa Margarita native joins several Democrats eyeing California's 40th District, including Kim's 2024 challenger, Joe Kerr; former Chino Valley school board member and attorney Christina Gagnier; Los Angeles art dealer Esther Kim Varet; consultant Paula Swift; and entrepreneur and nonprofit leader Nina Linh. Meade's support includes endorsements from Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and state Sens. Catherine Blakespear, Sasha Renee Perez and Maria Elena Durazo.
USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
Judge who faced Republican impeachment demands will handle Trump's Epstein request
A judge who faced Republican impeachment calls has been assigned to handle the Trump DOJ's request to release testimony tied to Jeffrey Epstein. A judge who faced Republican impeachment calls in February has been assigned to handle the Trump Justice Department's request to release the grand jury testimony that led to charges against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Manhattan federal Judge Paul Engelmayer was targeted by Republicans after temporarily blocking Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department central payment system in February. Engelmayer has now been assigned to Maxwell's federal sex-trafficking case, after President Donald Trump's Justice Department made a request in the case on Friday to release the grand jury transcripts, with redactions to shield "victim-related and other personal identifying information." Those transcripts would show witness testimony that formed the basis for charges against Maxwell. But the caveat on redactions could disappoint members of the public who are clamoring for a list of any potential Epstein clients who may have participated with him in a sex-trafficking ring, or for the government to release records beyond the grand jury testimony. The Justice Department made a similar request Friday in Epstein's federal sex-trafficking case, for which Epstein was awaiting trial when he was found dead in a jail cell in 2019. In addition to his federal sex-trafficking charges, Epstein was convicted in 2008 of a sex offense involving minors. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of trafficking a minor to Epstein. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence and appealing her conviction. Although Epstein's death was ruled a suicide by New York's chief medical examiner, conspiracy theorists have continued to question that conclusion and suggest Epstein may have been killed to protect powerful people who could have been involved in a sex-trafficking ring with the disgraced financier. Epstein rubbed shoulders with many rich and powerful people, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton. There's no evidence that either of those men participated in any criminal conduct with Epstein. In late 2002, Trump was quoted in a New York Magazine story calling Epstein a "terrific guy" and someone who "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." For Epstein's 50th birthday in early 2003, Trump sent him a letter saying they have "certain things in common" with a drawing of a naked woman, according to a July 17 Wall Street Journal report. Trump denies writing the letter and sued the newspaper's publisher over the story July 18. The two men's friendship ruptured around 2004, at about the time they had a power struggle over an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion, according to the Washington Post. Members of Trump's own circle, including FBI Director Kash Patel, have fueled those conspiracy theories for years. But in a memo released July 7, the Justice Department and FBI said a "systematic review" of documents related to Epstein "revealed no incriminating 'client list'" and supported the conclusion that he died by suicide. No further disclosures in the case were warranted, according to the memo. Facing mounting pressure from members of his own base following the memo, Trump said in a July 17 Truth Social post that he directed his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to produce pertinent grand jury testimony, subject to court approval. "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," Trump posted on Truth Social July 17. Engelmayer will now be tasked with handling that request in Maxwell's case. Following his February ruling on DOGE's access to the Treasury payment system, U.S. Rep. Eli Crane, a Georgia Republican, introduced a resolution calling for Engelmayer's impeachment, which was co-sponsored by fellow Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Taylor Greene is one of the Republicans to have broken from the Trump administration when it comes to the Epstein memo. "No one believes there is not a client list," she posted on X July 8. Contributing: Reuters
