Governor Jeff Colyer conceded the Republican gubernatorial nomination to Secretary of State Kris Kobach in a press conference Tuesday. He said he will not challenge Kobach over the nomination in court nor request a recount.
Colyer called the press conference after Johnson County’s totals came in and increased Kobach’s lead over Colyer.
Colyer said in the conference that he is determined to “keep the governor’s seat in Republican hands.” His Lieutenant Governor Tracey Mann said that he and Colyer are “committed to supporting the Republican nominee for governor and helping him win in November.”
He also expressed his gratitude to all his supporters in his concession speech.
“Thank you to our tens of thousands of supporters, especially those who gave of their time and treasure to make our campaign possible,” said Colyer “I am very proud of the work we have done in the past six months and of the hopeful optimistic message we shared in this campaign.”
Kobach called Colyer “incredibly gracious” as well as a “worthy opponent” and thanked him for his service to the state in a statement of his own.
Kobach is now set to face off with Democratic Candidate Laura Kelly in the November general election. She released her own statement after Colyer’s concession, writing that “[t]he last thing we need is a governor like Kris Kobach, who has pledged to bring back the same disastrous policies [as Sam Brownback]that created this mess.”
Kobach closed his statement by writing that he will work hard to advance the values he and Colyer share and that he looks “forward to working with Governor Colyer and all Republicans to keep Kansas red in November.”
