Kansas GOP chair asks predecessor to avoid him: ‘My wife feels very uncomfortable’
The chair of the Kansas Republican Party has involved an attorney as he asks his predecessor to avoid him.
In an email exchange provided to The Star, Mike Brown, a hard-right Republican who took over as chair of the state in February, suggested former chair Mike Kuckelman was deliberately attending events and frequenting venues where Brown might be with his family.
On the advice of his attorney, who is copied on the email, Brown writes that he is directing Kuckelman to avoid him and his family.
“Recently I have seen you around in multiple venues while I was with friends and family. The number of times is concerning and more than what I believe to be a coincidence,” Brown wrote in an email sent Tuesday morning. “As my wife feels very uncomfortable, I believe it is best we avoid each other to the maximum extent possible.”
In a response directed to Brown’s attorney, Scott Kreamer, on Wednesday, Kuckelman detailed his upcoming schedule, including the churches he might attend on Sunday and the restaurants he was likely to visit after a political fundraiser. He said it would be easier for Brown to avoid him rather than the other way around.
Kuckelman, a Johnson County attorney, has clashed with Brown, a former Johnson County commissioner, since his time as party chair.
Brown often attacked Kuckelman’s leadership while running to become chair and made unfounded claims of election fraud while running for Kansas secretary of state.
Kuckelman said that because he is an active supporter of Republican politicians he and Brown were likely to frequent the same events.
“I am certainly sorry to see that Mike and Kristi are uncomfortable when I am in the same venue,” Kuckleman wrote. “It is sad that in today’s political climate that we have this woke culture where people like Mike and Kristi are uncomfortable being in the same venue as people that disagree with them.”
In an interview with The Star, Kuckelman said Thursday Brown’s email followed a Monday night meeting of the Northeast Johnson County Conservatives where Brown specifically called Kuckelman out for not raising his hand in support of party unity. The prior Friday, Kuckelman said, he and Brown were both at an Overland Park bar where Republican state Rep. Adam Thomas was performing on the guitar.
“I’ve been a longtime participant in Republican politics and no one should be surprised that if there’s a Republican event and I’m available I will be there,” he said.
Kuckelman said he had not heard back from Brown or his attorney.
In a text message to The Star the day after this story published, Brown said his future actions would depend on Kuckelman’s behavior.
“Despite my job as the KSGOP Chairman, this is not a political issue and does not involve political settings,” Brown said. “This is about his behavior in non-political settings. In my private and personal life, if I feel that my wife or any member of my family is in a position they can be harmed or is otherwise uncomfortable, I will always vigorously protect the interests of my family.”
The former chair has been a vocal critic of Brown. He has been especially outspoken in recent weeks since the state party began considering a rule that would remove elected officials and groups representing minority and female Republicans from the party’s executive committee.
Last week, Brown directed the state party’s rules committee to reconsider the rule following backlash nationwide.
This story was originally published May 25, 2023 at 1:05 PM.
