In Senate race, Overland Park mayor gets endorsement from this Johnson County leader
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- Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers endorsed Curt Skoog in the Democratic primary for governor.
- Skoog highlighted mayoral experience and pragmatic governing as reasons to lead Kansas.
- Skoog faces Democratic state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher in the Aug. 4 primary.
Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers has endorsed Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog in the Democratic primary for Kansas governor.
Sayers said Skoog’s experience leading one of Kansas’ largest cities and his focus on pragmatic governing made him the right candidate for governor.
“Kansans want progress, not politics and broken promises,” Sayers said in a statement released Tuesday.
“Whether that be creating high-quality jobs, retaining students from our universities, or building communities where people want to call home: Mayor Skoog is the pragmatic leader with the executive experience to understand and deliver,” she said.
Skoog said he was honored to receive Sayers’ endorsement, saying mayors are focused on delivering results rather than engaging in political fights.
He criticized the Republican-controlled Legislature over issues including property taxes and access to health care.
“While the state legislature can’t deliver on their self-proclaimed ‘highest priorities,’ like property tax relief and access to healthcare, Mayors like myself and Julie have been at work every single day addressing the needs of our communities,” Skoog said in a release.
Skoog announced his campaign for governor earlier this year, on the deadline for filing on June 1. He currently faces Democratic state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher in the Aug. 4 primary for the nomination.
Gov. Laura Kelly, who is term-limited, had criticized Skoog’s decision to file late, having already endorsed Corson, and called the last-minute challenge ‘foolhardy.’
“A thrown-together, last minute, opportunistic attempt to divert my whole-hearted endorsement or that of others who know, for the sake of our children, our businesses and our state, that Ethan Corson must be the next governor of Kansas, is foolhardy,” Kelly said at the time.
