Jeff Colyer (A Better Man)
Contributors to Alternative History
Jeffery William Colyer is an American surgeon and politician serving as the 48th Governor of Kansas since 2019. Prior to this he served as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2015. Colyer served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and the Kansas Senate from...
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Alternative History
Jeffery William Colyer is an American surgeon and politician serving as the 48th Governor of Kansas since 2019. Prior to this he served as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2015. Colyer served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and the Kansas Senate from 2009 to 2011. He has announced an intention to run for re-election in 2022.

Early Life and Education[]

Jeff Colyer was born on June 3, 1960 in Hays, Kansas, the son of a dentist who worked in Hays. He attended Thomas More Prep High School and upon graduating in 1978, attended Georgetown University. He received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1981 and later a master's degree in international affairs while attending Clare Hall, Cambridge. Colyer earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Kansas in 1986.

Medical Career[]

Colyer attended residency training at the Washington Hospital Center in plastic surgery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, as well as in craniofacial/pediatric plastic surgery at the International Craniofacial Institute in Dallas, Texas. During this time, he was a White House fellow under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

In 1994, he opened his first plastic/craniofacial surgery practice in Overland Park, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. He volunteered with the International Medical Corps in countries such as Kosovo and Sierra Leonne. He traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq during the war on terror and to Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide.

Early Political Career[]

In 2002, Colyer first ran for the U.S House of Representatives. He defeated Adam Taff in the Republican primary and faced off against Democratic incumbent Dennis Moore from Kansas' third congressional district. He would narrowly lose in the general election to Moore.

In 2006, he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives from the 48th district. In 2008, he was elected to Kansas' 37th district in the Kansas Senate. During his time in the Senate he received a rating of 85 on Conservative issues from the Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

Lieutenant Governor of Kansas (2011-2015)[]

2010 Gubernatorial election[]

U.S Senator from Kansas and then Republican candidate for governor, Sam Brownback, announced he would be selecting Colyer to be his running mate. Brownback and Colyer were elected on November 2, 2010 and were sworn into office in January of 2011. Colyer resigned from his senate seat before taking office.

2014 Gubernatorial election[]

The Brownback/Colyer ticket faced a strong challenge from minority leader of the Kansas house of Representatives and Democratic candidate for governor, Paul Davis. Brownback's staunch conservative policies caused concern among even Republicans over the budget. Davis would defeat Brownback and Colyer by a 2.54% margin.

Tenure[]

As lieutenant governor, Colyer led the Kansas Medicaid transformation, which has saved Kansans $2 billion since 2013 while increasing services. KanCare has led to a 23% reduction in in-patient hospital stays, a 24% increase in members using a primary care physician and a 10% increase in outpatient, non-emergency treatment. He left office on January 14, 2015 after Sam Brownback's defeat in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

2018 Gubernatorial election[]

Colyer announced on January 5, 2017, that he would run for governor of Kansas. His two main challengers during the Republican primary were Representative Lynn Jenkins and Kris Kobach, the Attorney General of Kansas from 2007 to 2015. Colyer remained the front runner throughout the primary campaign. He eventually won the Republican nomination with 53% of the vote to Jenkins' 31% and Kobach's 15%.

In the general election, Colyer faced against the incumbent Democratic Governor Paul Davis. Davis campaigned on the fact that he had restored funding for education and controlled the deficit. Although the state was deeply Republican, the race was considered a tossup. During the early stretch of the campaign, Davis led by 1 to 4 points. In early September, Colyer took a narrow lead in the polls and retained it into election day. Ultimately, Colyer won the election with 53.8% of the vote to Davis' 44.5%.

Governor of Kansas (2019-Present)[]

Budget and Economy[]

In 2019, Colyer signed into law a bill introduced by Republican lawmakers to reduce the income tax. The bill cut revenues by an estimated $245 million over a three-year period. Colyer supported pursuing the previous policies of Sam Brownback on the budget, which included cuts on education and public services.

COVID-19[]

On March 12, 2020, the first Covid-19 related death was reported in Kansas. One day later, Colyer announced a state of emergency. On April 2, Colyer issued a stay-at-home mandate until April 14. On April 13, he extended the mandate to the end of the month. On April 15, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to grow, Colyer asked all school districts to remain closed for the remainder of the school year. Colyer has been a vocal critic of the Daschle administration's handling of the pandemic nonetheless.

The Kansas City Star in turn criticized Colyer's rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in an editorial lamenting that "Kansas seems to be uniquely underperforming, a recurring issue for Colyer and the administration he leads", citing CDC data showing Kansas near the bottom of vaccinations per 100,000 residents.

Social Issues[]

Colyer approved a Republican-proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution in early 2019. He faced criticism by both state Democrats and nationwide officials. Former governor Paul Davis said it was a return to the "dark ages". On LGBT rights, Colyer signed into law on March 5, 2019, a "religious freedom" anti LGBT adoption law which had been previously rejected by Paul Davis in 2017.

2022 Re-Election[]