Philip Sarnecki, a Johnson County businessman and first-time candidate, has smashed every fundraising record in Kansas gubernatorial history, raising $3 million in just four months — a staggering figure that dwarfs the totals of every other Republican contender. His campaign brought in $2.7 million directly, with supportive organizations contributing an additional $250,000, pushing him far ahead of the pack.
Sarnecki, who entered the race late last September, now reports $2.3 million in cash on hand, giving him the war chest and momentum needed to dominate early advertising and ground operations.
“Our campaign has raised the most money in Kansas gubernatorial history, and we did it in far less time than every other Republican candidate in the field,” Sarnecki said in a statement. “There’s an incredible energy around our campaign. Kansans are tired of losing and they’re tired of career politicians.”
He continued, “Kansans are hungry for a business leader and an outsider — someone like President Trump — to win this race. The support we’ve received across Kansas proves that to be true. We’re just getting started. It’s our time to win.”
A wealth management executive and president of RPS Financial Group, Sarnecki has built his campaign around the message that Kansas needs a leader “untethered from the Topeka political establishment.” His policy platform centers on tax relief, deregulation, and small-business growth, along with education reforms emphasizing parental rights and school choice.
Political analysts say Sarnecki’s rise mirrors the anti-establishment wave that powered Trump’s success in 2016 — a movement fueled by populist frustration with entrenched elites. His rapid fundraising surge has sent shockwaves through the Kansas GOP, instantly making him the de facto frontrunner in a crowded primary once dominated by veteran officeholders.
Republican strategist Matt Schlapp, a Kansas native and former Trump aide, said Sarnecki “represents the political energy of the post-Trump GOP — unapologetically outsider, entrepreneurial, and blunt about cutting bureaucracy.”
The timing of Sarnecki’s ascent could not be more symbolic. While the businessman is channeling voter anger at political insiders, outgoing Gov. Laura Kelly used her State of the State address Tuesday to issue a direct plea for moderation and civility, arguing that Kansans had thrived under steady, bipartisan leadership rather than partisan theatrics.
“I’m here because Kansans were looking for someone who would turn the volume down, to do more listening than yelling, to bring people together, to compromise and govern from the middle,” Kelly told a joint session of the Legislature. “Kansans are the most civil, decent people on earth. And they expect that from us, too.”
Kelly — who cannot seek reelection due to term limits — warned that “toxic politics” could derail progress the state made under her tenure, pointing to bipartisan success stories like 587 enacted bills and a landmark deal to build a Kansas City Chiefs stadium in Wyandotte County.
“To land the Chiefs, we all put politics aside,” Kelly said. “We all put personal differences aside. And we didn’t care who got the credit.”
Sarnecki has praised Kelly’s deal to lure the Chiefs to Kansas but dismissed her calls for “turning the volume down,” arguing that Kansans “need a fighter, not a mediator.” His campaign slogan — “It’s Time to Win Again” — evokes Trump’s populist tone, contrasting sharply with Kelly’s message of consensus and caution.
With record-breaking fundraising totals and a message resonating with restless GOP voters, Sarnecki has positioned himself as the candidate to beat — and as the leading Republican ready to take on Kelly’s successor in what could be Kansas’s most consequential gubernatorial race in decades.
