TOPEKA — Senate President Susan Wagle will have a challenger next week for the presidency of the Kansas Senate.
Sen. Ty Masterson, of Andover, told Republican colleagues in a letter that he plans to challenge Wagle, of Wichita.
The Wichita Eagle reports Masterson, who is budget chairman, helped lead budget negotiations during the past two sessions when the state had serious budget shortfalls. He also helped craft the bill that repealed the state’s school finance formula in 2015 and replaced it with block grants.
Masterson has been a close ally of Gov. Sam Brownback and a strong supporter of income tax cuts the Legislature passed in 2012.
Wagle has recently challenged Brownback on fiscal issues and has hinted she would consider rolling back part of the tax cuts.
