Olathe Republican Ron Ryckman won’t seek re-election after 6 years as Kansas House speaker

Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican who has led the chamber for six years, will not seek re-election.

Ryckman announced his plans Monday as the House met for Sine Die, the ceremonial last day of the legislative session.

“There are no words to adequately express what an honor it’s been to serve alongside you and to have earned your confidence as your speaker for three terms. It is an honor I will cherish always,” Ryckman said in a speech to the House chamber.

The Olathe Republican did not disclose his plans for the future. He had been rumored as a potential running mate to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the likely Republican nominee for governor, but Ryckman told reporters Monday it’s “not gonna happen.”

“Right now I’m gonna do what I can to make sure that (Schmidt’s) governor and then we’ll see what the administration looks like,” Ryckman said.

Ryckman was first elected to the House in 2012 and served five terms, including three as speaker. He was House speaker under both Republican and Democratic administrations, presiding over a GOP supermajority the entire time.

In 2017, Ryckman was among the Republican lawmakers who joined with Democrats to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to repeal the 2012 tax cuts, Brownback’s signature policy, to shore up the state’s finances.

Despite overriding Brownback early in his speakership, Ryckman’s tenure ultimately saw the conservative faction of the Kansas Republican Party grow more dominant in the House after moderates lost primaries in 2018 and 2020.

Ryckman broke precedent, retaining the speaker job for three terms rather than the traditional two.

Ryckman’s time in the House overlapped with his father, Ron Ryckman, Sr., a Republican from Meade, who served in the Kansas House from 2011 until 2017. The elder Ryckman was appointed to fill a vacant Kansas Senate seat in 2021.

Ryckman’s second-in-command, Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch, an Ottawa Republican, also announced his departure from the Legislature after 10 years Monday.

Finch and Ryckman stepping down precede an inevitable shuffle in leadership of the Kansas House. After the 2022 election, members of the Kansas House Republican Caucus will elect a new speaker, speaker pro tem and majority leader. House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, is likely to seek the position of speaker.