Jan Meyers says she didn’t endorse Paul Davis over Sam Brownback

Former congresswoman Jan Meyers said Thursday she has not endorsed Democrat Paul Davis in the Kansas governor’s race, contrary to an announcement by the Davis campaign this week.

“I did not endorse him,” she told The Star. “I’m trying to stay out of the race. … If I endorsed anyone, it would be Sam Brownback because he’s our Republican candidate.”

Meyers’ name was among the most prominent on a list of GOP supporters endorsing Davis that was passed out Tuesday by the Democrat’s campaign. She was also featured in several news stories about the event.

But in a telephone interview Thursday, the 85-year old former congresswoman said her loyalty to the Republican Party, and to people who had worked for her in many races, would preclude her from endorsing a Democrat.

Meyers said she did join Republicans for Kansas Values — “I’m trying to be a moderate” — but would never publicly endorse a Democrat over a sitting Republican governor. She said that “there must have been some miscommunication.”

Former Kansas senator Dick Bond, a Republican who helped organize the GOP endorsements for Davis, said it’s possible Meyers was confused when the two discussed the issue earlier this year.

“She has every right to do whatever she wants to do,” Bond said. “Her name’s been removed from everything, but the milk’s spilled.”

She was a member of the Overland Park City Council in the late 1960s and early 1970s followed by a dozen years in the Kansas Senate. She represented northeastern Kansas in the U.S. House from 1985 to 1997.

This story was originally published July 17, 2014 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Jan Meyers says she didn’t endorse Paul Davis over Sam Brownback."