This week’s Patron’s Post is a little more like a long email to a friend.

  Tomorrow night we will release a podcast with Kansas candidate for governor Philip Sarnecki. We recorded the interview Friday afternoon when Mr. Sarnecki came to the house with his campaign manager Hunter Kelly. Hunter may be the most eligible bachelor in Kansas City but that’s a whole different newsletter that Jessica should write, not me.

  I feel like over the past 40 years, I’ve met just about everyone in this town. And I feel like at least a lot of people have randomly heard of some dude that talked about sports all day, every day… good or bad. That’s the funny thing. Philip knows about 100 people I know and I know about 100 of his folks. He doesn’t know me from Adam and I’d never heard of the guy until a mutual friend named Cary Hall grabbed me in the hallway at Cumulus Media a couple months ago and told me I have to get him on the podcast. And Philip seemed surprised when we talked off air about how it was that I got to a point of doing a podcast in my home studio. He’d never heard of pod boy and I loved it. Philip has had Crown seats at the Royals for 20 years. He likes sports, he’s an ultra successful business owner and he’s likely funding his own campaign. I’ve met and loosely know just about every one of the really rich folks that own those seats around him. But I might have thought Philip sitting there was a contractor that did some work for Cliff Illig and was rewarded with a nice night at the K. 

  You’ve seen Philip on tv and your computer screen and he’s probably popping up on your feed. The ads are good…. But, like most people you meet in person, they are either 10 times better or worse than what’s portrayed on tv. Philip is better. After 5 minutes standing around the bar in my mancave where Jessica couldn’t take her eyes off Hunter, Philip seemed like an old friend. I have no clue what he thought of me but he’s the kind of guy that is smart, warm, personal and has that rare thing for a politician. He listens. If he thinks some of the nutty things I say are crazy you can tell he’s thinking about the 10 percent good and not the 90 percent impossible in my ideas. Oh, and I tossed some knuckleballs his way. The two year governorship to reset the election cycle on a presidential year? He didn’t laugh. Running a surplus in Kansas like the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to eliminate all taxes? He says it’s possible, but not for politicians. It’s only possible for a CEO that doesn’t care about the next election.

  In short, Philip sees the possible in everything. And he’s really, really sick of career politicians. He wants to cut the budget in Kansas by 20-40% depending on the department. This is a crazy interesting race with Ty Masterson getting Trump’s endorsement via Roger Marshall. But in state after state, people are choosing the candidate that is like Trump, not the candidate Trump is endorsing for governor. It’s crazy but it seems many of us like what Trump is and what he has brought to politics more than we actually like Trump. Not me… I like and respect Trump for what he is and understand that marketing and hype and lots of gold are his brand. It works for him.

  I doubt Philip Sarnecki has any fancy gold decor at his house in Bucyrus. He’s loaded, for sure. And you wouldn’t see him on the street and think he’s trying to figure out make the house payment or pay for car repairs. He founded a financial services company that made money for a lot of people including himself. He’s the largest shareholder in a quick change oil company called Strickland Brothers that has a handful of locations in Kansas and one in Liberty. They are huge in SEC country and growing rapidly. He doesn’t talk about those things much. He sold off several businesses to clear the deck to run for governor. And he’s not doing it for ego or vanity. That’s not him.

  In the two hours I spent with Philip it became abundantly clear that he has enjoyed being private, not being on social media and running businesses and raising kids. He likes going to church. There’s a difference between going to church and liking it if you know what I mean. Now the “handlers” want him to be a tv star. It’s new, and not always comfortable for him. But, dang, our conversation was as comfortable as your favorite pair of worn out slippers. I’ve heard Philip on radio, seen his ads and watched the debate. Our 40 minute chat is a whole different animal. No breaks, no time constraints and no edits.

  “Man, that was fun,” I said. “Are you guys ok with it? I’m sorry I went long.” Hunter said, “oh no, that was just great. Really great.”

  I can’t explain it and I’ve only spent two hours with the man but my thoughts on this race have totally changed. If Philip can get in front of enough people, in person, he’s got a real shot. The ads are for name recognition but if this man does the hard work and visits every town and every county he’s got a real shot. Farmers won’t think he’s a city slicker. Cattle ranchers will ask him about maximizing profits and his answers will be as smooth as sweet honey butter for their ears. Young voters may want to think he’s their middle aged dad but they will look at him with clearer eyes than young people look at their parents. He will make sense to them.

  I haven’t decided who to vote for. Trump endorsed Ty and that’s a big deal. But Philip seems like he is Trump for Kansas without all the circus act stuff. After we talked a little golf and traded some shots at John Thune after the podcast, we walked up the stairs where Jessica was. Pretty sure she wanted to make sure Hunter made it out the door without tripping and see if he needed a water for the road or anything. These two guests were so comfortable in our home Cabo didn’t even get off the couch as they were leaving. That’s what he does when family and friends are over… not the cable guy. Philip and Hunter got Cabo’s endorsement. As we said goodbye and they walked out, before I got the door closed, Jessica said, “I”m voting for that guy.” I said, “Trump’s on the Ty train.” She said, “I don’t like Ty at all and I’m texting my girlfriends.”

  You’ve got a decent idea what I”m thinking but I’m never, ever going to tell any listeners who to vote for in a primary. Still, I will make public, a week or so before the election, who I’m voting for. I’m in the opinion business and to keep that opinion to myself would be flat out wrong and against everything I believe in.

  I haven’t made up my mind but I’ve had a change of thought. I have seen the fruits of outside business people entering politics for CEO type positions and it seems like a really great idea. I can tell you this emphatically, in only two hours knowing him, I’m certain Philip Sarnecki is much more than qualified to be governor. I thought his candidacy was a joke in the beginning. I don’t like his tagline, “It’s winning time,” very much. I thought it was just another rich guy running so he could be famous and not just rich. Boy, was I wrong. 

  I know well over half the audience doesn’t have a vote in Kansas but I believe this is a really interesting race even for those that can’t vote in it. Keep your eye on it. Is Trump’s road the path to our future where we elect business leaders or will it fade? Is Trump a showman and that was his secret sauce or do conservatives crave more and more CEO’s cleaning up our government? Kansas is laboratory for the next 6 weeks…. may the best man win.


Kevin and Jessica