Jeff Colyer on his campaign to be Kansas governor again
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What motivated Jeff Colyer to run for Kansas governor again in 2026?
Former Kansas Governor Jeff Collier's many things in a political sense, state legislator, lieutenant governor, and for one year the state's governor. He suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Republican primary for governor in 2018, losing by a few hundred votes to Chris Kobach, who was defeated in the general election. Jeff Collier has had a distinguished career as a surgeon in the Kansas City area and shared his medical skills with patients in some of the world's most inhospitable places. And now he's campaigning for governor in 2026. I'm Tim Carpenter, a reporter at Kansas Reflector. Governor, welcome to our podcast.
Tim, it's great to be with you today and uh thanks for putting us on your show.
Yeah, I I I'm happy you're here. Uh so let's begin with. Let's begin with the idea that you're standing in front of uh potential voters. And why don't you tell people, tell folks what uh really what you are at the core.
Yeah. So I'm a fifth generation Kansan from western Kansas from Hayes originally and that's what really animates us and it is really about serving our neighbors. The job of governor, having been in that job, is you need to think every minute you're thinking about how am I gonna serve my state? How are we going to accomplish something? It's about getting things done. And that's how I grew up. That's why I was a surgeon. Uh that's why I got involved in in public policy and worked for President Reagan and President Trump and and other folks. But it's to accomplish things. And I really think Kansas is at this amazing opportunity for us over the next few years. This needs to be the place that our kids see their future.
And that's why I'm running. Is to secure that Kansas is the beating heart of America once again, that your kids see this is the best place to have a small business, to grow a family. And and about yourself,
just just the the brief about yourself. Like married, three
kids. Yeah. Went to college. Yeah. Married three kids went to college. Very good. Uh no, I have three daughters and I'm very, very proud uh of my daughters. And they're really kinda the reason why I'm running. Ruth and I, um, you know, we've been married now for thirty plus years and she's been the the love of my life and uh um you know, so we have a you know, a wonderful life. Um I work as a surgeon. I'm a Plastic surgery, I do craniofacial surgery, uh, but uh also have been involved in a lot of other things uh over the course of a lifetime.
All right, some people would say you've lost your mind, but why in fact are you running for governor this
year? I'm running to make Kansas great again, to steal that phrase, but Kansas Could be a fantastic place once again. We love it. That's why we are here. I'm fifth generations in my sixth generation behind me. They see their future in this state. And that's why I'm running, so that we can actually grow our state, so that we could be a state where your kids find that they can have any sort of opportunity. They don't have to go to Texas or go to Nashville for a job. Yeah. Those jobs are here. This is a great place to raise a family. in the wonderful communities, you know, that that we have here. We've had
How does Colyer’s experience as a surgeon and public‑policy leader shape his campaign platform?
a lot of problems, you know, over the last few years. Some things going well, some not so well. But we're at a point where if we don't fix this, we can lose a lot of the opportunities. You know, one percent of the state has walked over the last decade. Um and most of those are young people people. And we really need to see that Kansas is a great place. Right now we are Forty third in wages and we're the high tax state uh in the region. Not just the four states around us, but if you draw around all of those states of the seventeen states, we're the high tax state except for Illinois and we're kinda tied with New Mexico. And so it's just too expensive to live in Kansas and to have those opportunities right here.
Kansas had a democratic governor for say seven almost a half years, Governor Laura Kelly. Um what have you observed about
Her years at the home. You know, we've missed some opportunities.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What motivated Jeff Colyer to run for Kansas governor again in 2026?
0:00–3:18
2
How does Colyer’s experience as a surgeon and public‑policy leader shape his campaign platform?
3:18–7:05
3
Why does Colyer argue Kansas needs higher wages and lower taxes to retain families?
7:05–10:51
4
What are Colyer’s criticisms of the current Kansas Supreme Court selection process?
10:51–13:54
5
How does Colyer propose to address government waste and reduce unnecessary state jobs?
13:54–17:20
6
What is Colyer’s stance on abortion policy and the recent surge in abortions in Kansas?
17:20–21:32
7
How does Colyer plan to improve rural hospitals and health care funding?
21:32–25:39
8
What does Colyer mean by restoring ‘Kansas common sense’ in education and culture?
25:39–29:40
Speakers
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