Former Wichita mayor will likely kick off campaign for Kansas governor Monday

A prominent Wichita Democrat will likely kick off a campaign for Kansas governor Monday.

Former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, who had previously said he was weighing a run for governor in 2018, has announced a series of events Monday where he “will make an important announcement regarding his political future.”

Brewer’s run has been highly anticipated in Democratic circles, but his spokesman, Dale Goter, would not confirm that this announcement marked the start of Brewer’s gubernatorial run shortly before Kansas Democrats gather in Topeka for their annual Washington Days convention next week. Brewer would be the first Democrat to enter the race.

Republican Wink Hartman, an oil magnate from Wichita, formally announced his campaign Wednesday, while former state Rep. Ed O’Malley announced an exploratory campaign in January.

Brewer, who served as Wichita’s mayor from 2007 to 2015, would be the first African-American governor of Kansas if elected.

“What I look at is a community and a state that needs leadership,” Brewer said last month when asked about the possibility of a run.

Brewer will appear at the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce in Kansas City, Kan., at 4 p.m. Monday after events in Wichita and the Kansas statehouse earlier in the day.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Former Wichita mayor will likely kick off campaign for Kansas governor Monday."