The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

Even though the consensus in the state is Ken Canfield’s campaign for Governor is dead in the water, he bravely soldiered on and named a little known state legislator as his running mate:

[Kathe] Decker, 53, of Clay Center, has been the chairwoman of the House Education Committee for the past four years and chairwoman of the House Select Committee on School Finance for the past two years. She announced Wednesday at the close of the 2006 session that she would not seek another term, citing “a better offer that came through the door.”

“It’s a good opportunity to get a message out to the public,” Decker said Thursday. “We think there’s a lot of things Kansas can be doing for families.

“Ken Canfield is a visionary man. He and I have a lot of thought processes the same.”

Besides picking a sycophant for a running mate, reportedly Decker was not Ken Canfield’s first choice…

According to the CJ Online:

Brownback’s office said the senator — considered a top conservative candidate for the GOP presidential nomination — “absolutely” will campaign with the GOP nominee for governor this fall.

That means traveling with the nominee and helping with fundraising, said Brian Hart, a Brownback spokesman.

“I’m sure he’ll get heavily involved,” Hart said.

Of course I’m sure he wants to be traveling and fundraising for his hand picked nominee, Ken Canfield.  As I have pointed out before, the Governor’s race has much higher stakes for Brownback than you might think.  If he bombs out in the primaries (which he will) he could be considered as a vice presidential candidate.  However, if Kansas has a Democratic Governor she will get to appoint his successor.  With the hit the republicans will take in the Senate anyway on 2006, one seat could make the difference.  It could certainly be the tipping point for a decision about a running mate.

Senator Sam Brownback’s close friend and founder of the National Center for Fathering Ken Canfield officially entered the Governor’s race yesterday at a press conference held in an elementary school. After spouting platitudes about increased school funding and lower taxes, he admitted that he didn’t really know what he was talking about:

Pressed for specifics on how he was going to balance his stated goals of better schools with low business taxes, Canfield replied that it is a complex, challenging issue. He said this early in the campaign he had not yet formed a position on whether the state was spending enough on education or studied the thick budgets.

What a great start. While none of the traditional media saw fit to mention it in today’s stories, Senator Brownback’s longtime staffer Kim Smith is on leave to help the campaign. I have been told by several well informed sources that Brownback planted the seed but did not directly ask Canfield to run. In any case, it remains to be seen if Canfield can raise funds better than his republican primary opponents who both had abysmal reports.

The Topeka Capital Journal is reporting that Ken Canfield is expressing interest in the Governor’s race for 2006. As I predicted, Brownback is claiming neutrality. See what you think…

Speculation has been that Canfield was encouraged to run by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. Kim Smith, a longtime staffer for Brownback in Johnson County, has taken a leave of absence to help on Canfield’s campaign.

Canfield called the senator “a good, close, personal friend,” but said Brownback hadn’t encouraged him to run.

“He was shocked I was considering this,” Canfield said.

Yeah, and I have some ocean front property I’d like to sell ya in Dodge City.

Canfield is certainly the kind of candidate that ideologically matches Brownback. Canfield hates gays and women, believes in the dismantling of public education, and is completely unqualified for the job.

Some of the local conservative blogs have been buzzing with rumors about Ken Canfield and his supposed intention to run for Governor. Many of these rumors have centered around theories of Brownback anointing Canfield as the front runner. As of this evening, Brownback has not officially endorsed anyone.

I think endorsing any republican candidate for Kansas Governor would be monumentally stupid. The KS GOP is busy shooting itself in the face over the abortion issue and Sebelius is a juggernaut. If Brownback were to endorse anyone in the race, he would look weak when they lost to Sebelius. How can he run for president if he can’t help defeat a Democratic Governor in Kansas. Without knowing Sebelius, you wouldn’t think it would be that hard.

Bottom line: Brownback is likely to stay out of the primary race. The general election will be unavoidable, but look for him to stay at the sidelines as much as possible. My prediction is that “scheduling conflicts” will abound. Sebelius is so well liked and respected that she will destroy any opponent.