# Mike Brown (Kansas politician)

Mike Brown (born 1968) is an American politician from Kansas who currently serves as the Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. From 2017-2021 Brown served as a Johnson County Commissioner and as the Vice Chairman of the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, leading the charge for lower taxes, smaller government, and more freedom. He lost re-election to a Democrat in one of the county's most conservative districts. In 2022, Brown ran statewide garnering 45%+ of the vote in the Republican Primary election for Kansas Secretary of State on a platform of “Election Integrity First”, driving change. His well-received grassroots campaign led to many changes in Kansas Statute tightening Kansas election laws and processes.

## Early life

Brown is a 6th generation Kansan, born and raised in the Kansas City metro area. He graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School as part of the class of 1987 and attended Johnson County Community College and Kansas State University. Brown has worked in construction since high school, opening his own home building firm in 1990 becoming the largest volume builder in the KC Metro by 1998 and served as the 2007 President of the Homebuilders’ Association of Greater Kansas City. Brown continues working as a general contractor and owner of Brown Midwest Construction Services.

## Political career
### Early career

Brown started his state political career volunteering for the Tim Shallenburger for Governor 2002 bid for governor and two local county commissioner campaigns in 2004 and 2008. In 2016, Brown ran for the Johnson County Commission in District 6 and was elected. He served in this office from 2017-2021, losing re-election to a Democrat in one of the county's most conservative districts. This came on the heels of a reprimand by the Johnson County Commission for Brown's "drums of war" tweet. He had previously stirred controversy with a tweet about the Statue of Liberty and the #metoo movement. He has also served in a series of other Kansas roles including Johnson County's Parks and Recreation commissioner, member of the Kansas State Workforce Development Board, the Kansas Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Homebuilders’ Association of Greater Kansas City.

### Secretary of State bid

In the 2022 Kansas Secretary of State election, Brown challenged incumbent Secretary of State of Kansas, Scott Schwab, claiming that Schwab was a part of the "Republican establishment." Brown's campaign was based on “Election Integrity First” and lost with 44.76% to Schwab's 55.24%. Brown blamed Schwab for accepting "Zuckerbucks," when in fact it was Brown who accepted the money as a Johnson County commissioner. At the time, Brown said, “Nice, nice surprise. Nice gift. Thank you very much. Big help. And I’m ready to make a motion.” He claimed Schwab "should have known" where the money came from, but accepted no responsibility that he, himself, should have known.

### KSGOP Party Chairman

Mike Brown was elected Kansas GOP Party Chairman in 2022 against Helen Van Etten, a long-time Kansas GOP leader, by a two vote margin. Since becoming chairman, Brown claims the KSGOP has set fundraising records and is responsible for landslide Republican wins across Kansas in 2023 and 2024. However, federal filings indicate that Brown raised $200,000 less than his predecessor for the same time period. In addition, key races were lost in Brown's home county, Johnson County, including failure to live up to the promise of reclaiming the 3rd Congressional District seat for Republicans.
Brown's tenure as chair has been marred by controversy. First, his hand-picked rules committee members submitted a proposal to remove Republican affiliated groups such as the Kansas Black Republican Council, Republican National Hispanic Assembly - Kansas, and the Kansas Federation of Republican Women from the state committee. The proposal also included removing Republican elected leaders from the state committee.
Soon after that controversy died down, the Johnson County Republican Party hosted an event where an effigy of President Biden was kicked and beaten repeatedly. Brown had endorsed and helped advertise the event, although he claimed no responsibility for the activities.
During the 2024 Presidential campaign, Brown sought donations to the Donald J. Trump for President campaign under a "bundler number." He utilized Kansas Republican Party resources to contact Republicans across the state to send money with the bundler number. This number would allow him to win perks and curry favor with the Trump campaign. He tried to create doubt about legitimate Trump campaign donation letters, and discouraged Republicans from donating directly to the campaign.

## Personal life

Brown is married to Kristi Brown. The couple live in Overland Park, Kansas and have 5 children between them.

## Electoral history

2022 Kansas Secretary of State Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Scott Schwab (incumbent) | 245,998 | 55.24% |
| | Republican | Mike Brown | 199,316 | 44.76% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 445,314 | 100% |