Mike Brown is an American politician from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

who currently serves as the Chair of the

Kansas Republican Party The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859. At the state level, the party is largely split between its moderate and con ...

. In 2022, he challenged incumbent Scott Schwab in that year's Kansas Secretary of State election.

Early life

Brown is a 6th generation Kansan, born and raised in the

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

metro area. He graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School as part of the class of 1987, and attended

Johnson County Community College Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County. History In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...

and

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. Brown has worked in construction since high school, opening his own home building firm in 1990 and working as a

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

Political career

Early career

Brown started his political career volunteering for

Tim Shallenburger Tim Shallenburger (born March 14, 1954) was Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives and the Kansas State Treasurer. Biography Shallenburger was raised in Baxter Springs, Kansas. He attended Pittsburg State University and Coffeyville Commu ...

's unsuccessful 2002 bid for governor, and two local county commissioner campaigns in 2004 and 2008. Then in 2017 he ran for Johnson County Commissioner himself and was elected as Johnson County Commissioner. He would serve in this office until 2021. He has also served in a series of minor roles including as Johnson County's Parks and Recreation commissioner, a member of the Kansas State Workforce Development Board, the Kansas Black Chamber of Commerce, as the 2007 President and a board member of the Homebuilders’ Association of Greater Kansas City.

Secretary of State bid

In the

2022 Kansas Secretary of State election The 2022 Kansas Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the Secretary of State of Kansas. Incumbent Republican Scott Schwab won re-election to a second term. Republican primary Candidates Declared * Mike Brown, form ...

, 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 was competitive, but he lost with 44.76% to Schwab's 55.24%.

KSGOP Party Chairman

Mike Brown was elected Kansas GOP Party Chairman in 2022 against Helen Van Etten, a long-time Kansas GOP leader. During his tenure, Brown has taken a number of bold and somewhat controversial positions, including accusing his predecessor,

Mike Kuckelman Mike Kuckelman is an American lawyer and politician from Kansas. He served as the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party from February 2019 to February 2023. Early life A Catholic, Kuckelman attended the private Maur Hill Prep School. Kuckelm ...

, of stalking his family. He has also overseen a substantial dip in the Kansas GOP's fundraising numbers due to party insiders efforts to reduce fundraising opportunities. Brown has succeeded in spite of the efforts on November 4, 2023, Former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

commended Mike Brown on doing “a fantastic job” as Kansas GOP Chair during a rally in Kissimmee, Florida in which Brown was in attendance. Trump called Brown a “warrior” and added, “Thank you, Mike. Great job. How are we doing in Kansas? Pretty good… I think we are doing pretty good there.”

Personal life

Brown is married to Kristi Brown who serves as the Kansas State Director of the Trump 2024 campaign. The couple live in Overland Park, Kansas and have 5 grown children.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Mike Living people Kansas Republicans Year of birth missing (living people)