Charlotte O’Hara, announced Tuesday she will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2026, according to a media release.
O’Hara, a business woman and conservative Republican, stated in the release, she “is done with Kansas being the high tax point on the prairie. As Governor, she will focus on reining in state spending and ludicrous corporate welfare, ban DEI and get schools back to education.
Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly’s second term is nearing an end. Kelly is term-limited from running again in 2026. In January, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab of Overland Park announced his intention to run for governor.
O’Hara has long fought corporate welfare/tax incentives, which increase property taxes for homeowners and small businesses, according to the media release from her campaign.
O’Hara is a past Republican Party 3rd District Chairwoman and served in the Kansas House (2011-2012). She voted against Governor Brownback’s 7.5% increase in the 2012 General Fund budget and blew the whistle on Brownback’s acceptance of the federal Early Innovator Grant money to build the IT infrastructure for ObamaCare in Kansas.
O’Hara (2021-2025) served as Johnson County Commissioner, District 3, “where she refused to capitulate to COVID masks and vaccine mandates.” She tirelessly fought against Democrat controlled Johnson County Commission’s spending frenzy.O’Hara emphasized, “The hidden increase of taxes through inflation has become extraordinarily draconian, especially property taxes.
“While Democrats along with Republicans support corporate welfare/tax incentives, the rest of us have to pay our property taxes in full with no shelter. This hits all of our budgets, but especially those on fixed incomes, whose disposable income shrinks with every tax increase.”
“O’Hara was raised on a family farm in Bourbon County. There her strong faith, work ethic and common sense were honed. O’Hara added, “I’ve had the opportunity to succeed in many endeavors: general contractor and developer, public servant, substitute teacher and homeschooler.”
“Now, with my son, I co-own a small manufacturing company. I cannot stand silent and watch small businesses and homeowners be destroyed through high property taxes or watch our children drown in the sewer of WOKEism in our schools. It is time to have a proven conservative at the helm of our Republican super-majority.”
O’Hara, mother of 5 and grandmother of seven, finds joy in cooking for her family, on horseback, writing poetry and playing her piano and guitar. She lives in Overland Park with her two Australian Shepherds, Harvey and Bear.
