Kansas GOP leader backs off plan stripping power from minority groups, elected officials

Amid outcry from top state Republican Party leaders, Kansas GOP Chairman Mike Brown said Friday he is asking the party's rules committee to reconsider a proposal that would have stripped power from elected officials and groups representing women, minority groups and college students.

The initial proposal, advanced by the rules committee earlier this month, would have dramatically overhauled the composition of the party's executive committee, which holds sway over major party decisions.

A draft plan circulated at the time showed the proposed change, advanced by leadership of the rules committee, would have booted all statewide and congressional leaders off of the panel, as well as those from the Kansas Federation of Republican Women, Kansas Young Republicans, Kansas Black Republican Council and the state chapter of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly.

The move would have the effect of strengthening the power of Brown and his allies within the executive committee. Brown was narrowly elected to the party chairmanship earlier this year as an outsider promising change if GOP members backed him over a more establishment candidate, former Republican National Committeewoman Helen Van Etten.

More: Amid tensions, Kansas Republican Party departs from status quo to tap Mike Brown as chair

Party members tapped Brown, who previously challenged Secretary of State Scott Schwab in the 2022 primary, but only by one vote.

In an email to Republicans on Friday morning, Brown said he has directed the rules committee to meet and reconsider the policy. It is unclear when such a meeting might occur.

The move, Brown said, was important to unify the party and refocus it on winning in state and local elections over the next 18 months.

"I believe this recommendation to reconsider will allow our Party to refocus on expanding our Party and winning elections," Brown wrote. "Our Party, the Party of Lincoln, the Party that championed woman's suffrage and Civil Rights, has and will continue to support all of our GOP members' full involvement in our Party."

The plan was swiftly condemned by many Republicans officials. In response, Brown said in an email to Republicans last week that he had no involvement in the proposal and that it would not be voted on at the state Republican Party's summer state committee meeting.

This did little to stem the tide of criticism, however. In a joint statement Friday, the four GOP chairs representing the state's four congressional districts — some of whom backed Brown in his bid for state party chairman — said the proposal was "ill-conceived, lacks justification, and shocks the conscience."

"A simple promise to not bring it up this summer does not suffice, as even sending the signal that the party is evenconsidering this extreme action risks further irreparable harm each day it remains a potential point of discussion," the chairs said in the statement. "It is unacceptable to the vast majority of Republicans and we will not rest until it is defeated, one way or the other."

Mark Kahrs and Kim Borchers, the state's two Republican National Committee members, also condemned the policy in a joint statement.

"This proposal has the immediate effect of concentrating decision-making with the chairman and the chairman's appointees on the Party's Executive Committee," the statement said.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas Republican Party to rethink controversial rules changes