Kansas senator says he has enough signatures to run for governor as an independent
State Sen. Dennis Pyle says he gathered more than enough signatures to run for Kansas governor as independent.
Pyle, a conservative state senator who left the Republican Party, filed his petition for office Monday.
In an interview Monday, he said had gathered nearly 9,000 signatures, well above the 5,000 signature threshold required to run. However, he is not yet guaranteed to get on the ballot. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office must review and verify the signatures.
If verified, Pyle would join the November ballot alongside Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the likely Republican nominee.
Schmidt, who spent a decade in the Kansas Senate before his three terms as attorney general, has a clear path to securing the GOP nomination Tuesday after former Gov. Jeff Colyer dropped out of the race last year following a cancer diagnosis.
Pyle, from Hiawatha in northeast Kansas, would run to the right of Schmidt. He pointed to Schmidt’s record in the Legislature as evidence that he wasn’t conservative enough.
“People have a distinct choice between two liberals and a conservative now. I’m the only conservative in this race,” Pyle said.
Pyle’s former party blasted his decision to join the race, warning that it will elevate Kelly at the Republican nominee’s expense.
“Dennis Pyle doesn’t care about Kansans. Dennis Pyle only cares about Dennis Pyle. A vote for him is a vote for four more years of Laura Kelly and liberal Democrat control,” said Shannon Pahls, the spokeswoman for the Kansas Republican Party.
Schmidt’s campaign manager, CJ Grover, called Pyle a “third-party vanity candidate.”
“While Democrats might have gotten their spoiler, Laura Kelly is still going to lose the election because Kansans know a vote for fake conservative Dennis Pyle is a vote for four more years of Laura Kelly,” Grover said.
Speaking to The Star, Pyle said he intends to win the race. But independents do not have a track record of winning statewide elections in Kansas.
In 2018, independent Greg Orman pulled 6.5 % of the vote, a total greater than Kelly’s 5-point victory over Kansas Republican nominee Kris Kobach.
Pyle’s candidacy may be problematic for Schmidt who could lose voters on the right. Some Democrats, including state Rep. Vic Miller of Topeka, helped Pyle gain the needed signatures.
“I can’t know their motives,” Pyle said. “Somebody could have really disliked Derek and been motivated to work for me.”
In a statement, the Kansas Democratic Party welcomed Pyle’s entrance into the race and the ensuing conflict with Schmidt.
“While Schmidt and Pyle are busy fighting with each other, Governor Laura Kelly continues to earn support from Kansans of all political stripes,” said Emma O’Brien, the party’s spokeswoman.
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 12:31 PM.
