Colyer ends campaign for Kansas governor following prostate cancer diagnosis

Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) ended his campaign for his old job on Monday after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, saying that he would instead focus on receiving treatment for the disease. 

“While I have always focused on helping others, for the next few weeks I am going to focus on my health,” Colyer said in a statement. “I was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer like my father and grandfather. After treatment, I am confident for a full recovery. Given these challenges, Ruth and I have decided to withdraw from the Governor’s race.”

Colyer, a former Kansas lieutenant governor who served a brief stint as governor after the office’s previous occupant, Sam Brownback, resigned to take a post in the Trump administration, had not previously disclosed his cancer diagnosis.  

In announcing his decision to drop out of the governor’s race, Colyer endorsed Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Colyer’s withdrawal from the race combined with the endorsement appears likely to clear the field for Schmidt, who faces no major rivals in the GOP primary. 

Colyer, 61, ran for a full term as governor in 2018, but ultimately lost the Republican primary to former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach went on to lose the general election that year to current Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who is running for reelection.

Colyer had announced in March that he would once again seek the GOP gubernatorial nomination.