Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback – and his soon-to-be successor Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer - have been in the national spotlight since last week’s announcement that Brownback had been nominated by the Trump Administration to serve as the ambassador for international religious freedom.
The New York Times ran stories on both men last week – one highlighting Brownback’s legacy and another describing who Colyer is.
The former describes Brownback as an unpopular leader of a state in uncertain fiscal health and a model for the opportunities and perils of governing without compromise from the right on social and fiscal issues – painting Kansas as a cautionary tale that even in a Republican state, there are dangers to governing too far to the right.
The latter describes Brownback’s successor Colyer as being a political conservative aligned with Brownback on most issues but someone who will be more likely to take a more compromising and hands-on approach to dealing with lawmakers.