By Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Businessman Philip Sarnecki said he was weary of Republicans losing Kansas campaigns for governor to Democrats, so he decided to try to fix the problem himself.
He said he was joining a group of candidates seeking the Kansas Republican Party’s nomination that was dominated by “career politicians.” The GOP list included former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Senate President Ty Masterson, Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.
The 2026 campaign will decide who replaces term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. She’s been governor since defeating Republican Kris Kobach in 2018. In her 2022 campaign for reelection, she beat Republican Derek Schmidt.
“President Donald Trump won Kansas in a landslide the last three elections, but Republicans keep losing in Kansas,” Sarnecki said in a campaign announcement Tuesday. “That is over. We’re going to win and we’re going to win big.”
Sarnecki, who lives in Johnson County, is retired after 30 years in the financial services industry. He was managing partner of Northwestern Mutual, which had offices in 18 states.
He vowed not to “play by the old political rules. I can’t be bought. And, I refuse to let Democrats rewrite Kansas’ future.”
Sarnecki said that as governor he would support Trump, help create good-paying jobs, lower taxes for individuals and businesses, expand parental rights in education and shrink government red tape so businesses had more opportunity to grow.
In addition, Sarnecki blamed “poor Republican leadership” for high corporate income taxes and property taxes.
He said there wasn’t enough affordable housing for young Kansans. Employers, he said, were irresponsibly advancing diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the workplace.
“This is what the career politicians in Kansas have brought us: Incompetence and losing,” he said.
Democrats running for governor include state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher, both of Johnson County.
“Today’s Democratic leaders are lost souls,” Sarnecki said. “They can’t figure out the difference between illegal immigration and legal immigration. They can’t figure out the difference between criminals and victims of crime.”
