Colyer, Kobach avoid joining GOP calls for Greitens to resign
The two Republican frontrunners in the Kansas governor’s race both declined to call on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to resign Tuesday, despite similar calls from other GOP officials for him to leave office.
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer dodged the question Tuesday morning after a bill signing at a Topeka high school. He also declined to talk about Missouri’s GOP leader after a debate last Friday.
"I'm focusing on Kansas," Colyer said.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who held a press conference Tuesday outside a Topeka post office almost immediately after Colyer’s event, also shied away from weighing in on the issue. The Kansas Republican is challenging Colyer in the August primary.
"I haven't been following the facts and circumstances of the Greitens issue in Missouri," Kobach said. "I'm going to stay out of that."
Greitens faces a May 14 criminal trial in St. Louis for felony invasion of privacy based on allegations that he photographed a woman without her consent while she was bound and partly nude. She alleges that he said the photo would keep her from speaking about their extramarital affair in 2015.
A Missouri House committee released a report last week based on the woman's testimony that included additional allegations of sexual coercion and physical abuse.
Greitens has admitted to the affair but has denied the abuse allegations. He has refused to answer whether he ever photographed the woman, but his legal and political teams have questioned the woman's credibility.
Last week, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner joined other Republicans in calling on Greitens to resign.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also weighed in, saying that if the blackmail allegations against Greitens are true, he should resign.
On Tuesday, after Kobach and Colyer declined to speak to Greitens' fate, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced that his office had uncovered evidence of a possible felony by the Missouri governor involving the veterans charity he founded. Hawley said last week that Greitens should “resign immediately.”
Spokesmen for both Colyer and Kobach did not immediately respond to the news.
This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Colyer, Kobach avoid joining GOP calls for Greitens to resign."