TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer has picked Tracey Mann to serve as the state's next lieutenant governor. The new Republican governor announced his appointment of the 41-year-old Mann during a Kansas Livestock Association dinner in Topeka. A swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the Statehouse. Mann is a commercial real estate broker and farmer from Salina. He said in a statement he's "extremely grateful for the opportunity." Colyer was the state's longest-serving lieutenant governor but became governor January 31 when former GOP Governor Sam Brownback stepped down to take an ambassador's post. Mann will be on the gubernatorial ticket when Colyer seeks a full, four-year term this year.
(alternate newscast version from Jim McLean, Kansas News Service)
Kansas Gets New Lt. Governor, Tracey Mann
Kansas City commercial real estate executive Tracey Mann is Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer’s pick for lieutenant governor. Colyer says he chose Mann because of his leadership on economic development and rural issues. Mann lost his only bid for political office -- a 2010 campaign for the Republican nomination in the state’s Big 1st Congressional District. In that race, Mann called on then-President Obama to release his birth certificate. He now calls his foray into birther politics a mistake.
As lieutenant governor, Mann says he’ll work to create the kind of jobs that will keep young Kansans from leaving the state. Colyer became the state’s 47th governor late last month when former Governor Sam Brownback left for a post in the Trump administration.