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Current & Former Kansas GOP Officials Endorse Davis

Susie Fagan, KHI News Service

More than 100 current and former Republican office holders endorsed Democrat Paul Davis for governor on Tuesday in Topeka.

Dick Bond is a former president of the Kansas Senate from Overland Park. He says he’ll always be a Republican, but he also says cuts to public education and Governor Sam Brownback’s tax cuts have the state headed in the wrong direction.

"The decision to endorse a democratic candidate for governor is a big step for every one of us," he says. "A major departure from our Republican roots. We do not make this decision lightly."

Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger also participated in the mass endorsement, which organizers say is unprecedented in Kansas politics.

The event comes a day after former Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum endorsed Brownback ­- praising his former U.S. Senate colleague as a “warrior” for conservative principles.

A recent poll showed Davis leading Brownback in a tight race that is starting to generate national attention. Davis is from Lawrence and is the minority leader in the Kansas House.