Kansas Senate Republicans elect new majority leader after Suellentrop ouster
Kansas Republican senators chose Sen. Larry Alley as their new majority leader Wednesday as they closed the door on a chaotic session nearly two months after removing Sen. Gene Suellentrop from the powerful position.
Alley, a Winfield Republican, has been acting as majority leader since Suellentrop’s arrest for alleged DUI and fleeing police in March. He will serve in the position for three sessions, the remainder of what would have been Suellentrop’s term.
Senate Republicans chose Alley on an 18-11 vote after adjourning for the session Wednesday morning. Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican, will take over for Alley as assistant majority leader.
Alley said he planned to run the Republican caucus the same way he had for the past three months. His primary responsibility in the role is to set the daily calendar for debate on the Senate floor.
Other members of leadership said the selection of Alley spoke to a desire for consistency after a chaotic session.
“Senator Alley … has been a steady hand,” said Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican. “He has earned the respect of everybody regardless of how they or he votes.”
“I think people are looking for someone with maturity, a steady hand and the conservative values. He’s proven all of that.”
Republicans voted to remove Suellentrop from leadership in April after records in his criminal case revealed he had threatened to fight a Capitol Police Officer and called him “donut boy” while in custody for allegedly driving the wrong way on Topeka highways for 10 minutes in the middle of the night.
Suellentrop, who remains a senator, faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, in addition to several misdemeanors and traffic infractions. His next court date is expected in June.
Prosecutors and law enforcement allege the senator drove the wrong way on Topeka highways at high speeds while intoxicated, leading police on a five minute pursuit. Officers eventually deployed stop sticks to deflate his tires, according to dispatch audio, bringing his vehicle to a stop on I-70 near downtown.
A Highway Patrol trooper wrote in an affidavit that Suellentrop was unresponsive to commands and had to be removed from the vehicle. He declined a Breathalyzer test, but police obtained a search warrant for his blood, which had an alcohol content of 0.17 — twice the legal limit of 0.08 — three hours after his arrest.
Suellentrop allegedly called the trooper “donut boy” and appeared to bemoan the circumstances that led to his arrest, saying “all for going the wrong way.”
The trooper said the senator was slightly aggressive, and at one point recounted that he had played high school sports and said he could “take” the officer in a fight.
This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 1:58 PM.
