KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Saying he planned to focus on endeavors in the private sector and in medicine, former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer announced Monday that he would not run for U.S. Senate in 2020.
“I appreciate all the encouragement I have received since Senator Roberts announced that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election in 2020,” Colyer, an Overland Park resident, said in a statement. “Right now I am doing some interesting things in (the) private sector and in medicine.”
Colyer, a former state senator and state representative, is a plastic surgeon and former White House fellow, working in international affairs, under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
He ascended to the Kansas governorship in January 2018 after Sam Brownback joined the Trump Administration as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
He narrowly lost a Republican primary to Kris Kobach for a full term as Kansas governor later in 2018.
Democrat Laura Kelly subsequently defeated Kobach in the general election in November 2018.
“I am committed to service, as I have been my entire life,” Colyer said. “I will continue to serve in the future and I remain dedicated to the betterment of the state of Kansas.”
Colyer will be a Fall 2019 Fellow at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service in Washington, D.C.
