The organization Republicans for Kansas Values, which is composed of 104 current and former Republican officeholders in Kansas, endorsed state Rep. Paul Davis (D) for governor and educator Jill Docking (D) for lieutenant governor, according to a Monday press release.
“We are deeply concerned by the direction Sam Brownback is taking Kansas. Today we announce our opposition to his re-election. And to pledge our voices, our energy and our votes to Paul Davis and Jill Docking -- our choice for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kansas,” former state Sen. Wint Winter (R) said in the release, referring to the current Republican governor.
“This election should not be about electing a Republican or a Democrat as Governor. It must be about electing a moderate, commonsense Kansan as governor,” former state Senate President Dick Bond (R) added.
The collective endorsement comes as Brownback faces increasing criticism for continuing to push for massive tax cuts amid a state budget deficit.
Under Brownback, the state is also facing a lawsuit from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence over a state law that exempts Kansas-manufactured firearms that haven't crossed state lines from federal gun control laws.
Brownback, himself a former U.S. senator, recently campaigned with 2012 GOP presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
HuffPost Pollster, which combines all publicly available polling data, has Davis leading Brownback ahead of the November general election:
CORRECTION: Due to a technical error with HuffPost Pollster, a previous version of this article stated that Brownback is leading Davis.
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