Former Kansas governor blasts incumbent House Republican, says he’s ‘disqualified’

Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer announced Wednesday that he is working to oust state Rep. Michael Capps, issuing a strong rebuke of the first-term lawmaker and throwing his support behind his Republican primary opponent.

Capps dismissed Colyer’s admonishment, saying he’s “not interested in winning any Swamp popularity contests.”

Capps is defending his seat in Kansas House District 85 against Republican challenger and political newcomer Patrick Penn. The winner will face Democrat Marcey Gregory, a former Goddard mayor.

“We have an unfortunate situation in the 85th District,” Colyer said. “And that unfortunate thing is Michael Capps has actually disqualified himself to serve as our representative. That pains me. As a Republican governor, that pains me a lot.”

Capps tenure in the legislature has been riddled with scandals — from accusations of child abuse to a accusations of his participation in a smear video during the 2019 mayoral race — and he has repeatedly ignored calls to resign from state and county party leaders.

In the past week he has been accused of donating $100 to Planned Parenthood in Penn’s name and attempting to stage a photo-op with a Black legislator in exchange for campaign funds.

Prompted by the two most recent scandals, Colyer traveled to Wichita on Wednesday to announce his support for Penn and condemn Capps.

“We actually asked for him to resign when some of those inappropriate things came out,” Colyer said. “But it wasn’t just once. That pattern has continued since then, and we find out more and more every single day.”

Also pulling for Penn over Capps is every officer of the Kansas Republican Party, Colyer said. The state party’s policies prohibit official endorsements of one Republican over another, he said.

Penn last week received the endorsement of Kansans for Life, the state’s leading anti-abortion group. In a news release, the group excoriated Capps for saying he had the organization’s support during his campaign and said “pro-lifers cannot trust him.”

Republicans leaders fear that Capps could lose a seat in a traditionally conservative district that straddles Sedgwick and Butler Counties, including parts of northeast Wichita.

Amid questions about whether he actually lived in the district In 2018, Capps narrowly defeated Democrat Monica Marks 52-48, the closest a Republican has come to losing the District 85 seat in decades.

Excluding Capps, the GOP has won by at least 25 percentage points in the district’s House races since 2000.

“We want a leader,” Colyer said. “We want somebody who gets things done, who listens, and that’s why I’m supporting Patrick Penn.”

Penn said he was honored to have Colyer’s support, calling him “a trusted adviser.”

“Now, his support means that I have a little bit more than a well-respected Republican governor endorsing our campaign,” Penn said. “It also means that we have a conservative friend with the bona fides of conservatism, the principles of conservatism, that we can trust to get the results we need.”

After Colyer’s news conference announcing his support for Penn, Capps issued a written statement.

“The people of the 85th district deserve a representative who will unapologetically fight for our conservative values – not one beholden to special interests and the Topeka establishment,” Capps’ statement said.

“I’m not interested in winning any Swamp popularity contests – that’s why I’ll never stop fighting to protect life at all stages, defend our 2nd Amendment and stop Governor Kelly’s radical liberal agenda in its tracks.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 5:35 PM.