Calls for primary challenge

Former Kansas governor calls for primary challenge to Rep. Steve Watkins

By DANIEL STRAUSS and MELANIE ZANONA

Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer is publicly encouraging Republican state Treasurer Jake LaTurner to abandon his campaign for Senate and instead primary Rep. Steve Watkins.

LaTurner, 31, is one of a handful of Republican candidates seeking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. That list includes former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who defeated Colyer in last year's gubernatorial primary only to lose the general election to Democrat Laura Kelly.

“The citizens of the 2nd Congressional District are solid, conservative folks who deserve to be represented by a Republican that shares their values,” Colyer said in a statement. “I’m calling on Jake LaTurner to end his campaign for the United States Senate and instead seek the Republican nomination for the United States House in the Second Congressional to ensure we keep the seat in Republican hands.”

Colyer’s statement didn’t mention Watkins by name but criticized the freshman for "poor fundraising and a lack of coalition building."

LaTurner is one of five candidates competing in the Republican primary for the Senate seat — and it’s possible more could jump into the field, including current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Rep. Roger Marshall, who represents the largely agricultural 1st District.

Some Republicans fear that Kobach, a polarizing ally of President Donald Trump, could put the Senate seat in play if he won the nomination, having just lost a statewide race.

“The fact is we have too many candidates in the Senate race and a need for an improved candidate in the Second District,” Colyer said. “This would help our state in two ways — by giving us a viable conservative option in the 2nd District and helping to clear the logjam in the Senate race."

LaTurner, in a brief statement issued hours after Colyer's call, expressed openness to dropping down to run for the House.

“I am humbled by the encouraging words of Gov. Colyer and will take some time with my family to prayerfully consider his suggestion that I run for the 2nd Congressional District seat,” said LaTurner.

Over the past week, Watkins has been dogged by resignation rumors appearing in local media. He has dismissed any suggestion that he would leave office, and his chief of staff has slammed the chatter as a "whisper campaign coming from political operatives in Kansas."

House Republican leadership remains firmly behind Watkins, who as of right now is still a member of the GOP Conference in good standing.

Watkins, a 42-year-old Army veteran, has faced allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior in the past. Shortly before the midterm elections, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported that an Alaska woman, Chelsea Scarlett, accused Watkins of making unwanted sexual advances more than a decade ago. Scarlett, who was working as a contractor at the same fort where Watkins was stationed in the Army, claims he locked her in a room and put his hands on her. The newspaper also reported that acquaintances of Watkins accused him of cheating on his wife while claiming to be in an open marriage at parties.

On the campaign trail, Watkins also came under fire for inaccurately claiming he started and expanded a private contracting company in the Middle East. Watkins, who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, became a defense contractor in Afghanistan after serving in the Army.

At the beginning of his bid for the congressional seat, several Kansas Democrats said they had met with Watkins about possibly running as a Democrat before he decided to run as a Republican.

After winning a seven-way 2018 primary with only 27 percent of the vote, Watkins narrowly beat Democrat Paul Davis by less than 1 percentage point to keep the seat in GOP hands after the retirement of GOP Rep. Lynn Jenkins. Trump carried the district, which covers the eastern portion of the state and includes Topeka, by 18 percentage points in 2016.