Kansas governor urges troubled lawmaker to resign following his second arrest in less than a month

In Kansas, Democrats and Republicans are both calling for the resignation of State Rep. Aaron Coleman following his second arrest on criminal charges in less than a month.

The Associated Press is reporting that early Sunday morning, November 28, the 21-year-old Democrat was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving — an arrest that follows the domestic violence charges he was already facing.

According to AP, “At the time of the arrest, Coleman was already out on bond from an October 30 domestic battery arrest. In that case, he allegedly pushed, hit and spit on his 18-year-old brother in a fight that erupted because the brother was going to get baptized, according to court documents. The Kansas City, Kansas Democrat has been embroiled in controversy since before he took office after being elected in 2020 and has acknowledged past abuses against girls and young women. A legislative committee reprimanded Coleman in writing in February over those abuses.”

In 2020, Coleman pulled off a major upset by defeating seven-term Democratic incumbent Stan Frownfelter in his district and went on to win the general election. But his months in the Kansas House of Representatives have brought one controversy after another.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a centrist Democrat in a deeply Republican state, is urging the Kansas State Legislature to remove Coleman from office if he won’t resign.

AP reports, “Both Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly have joined the chorus of those calling for Coleman to resign. If he refuses to resign, Kelly said, the Legislature should remove (him) from office, saying his latest arrest ‘is further evidence that he is not fit to serve in the Kansas House of Representatives.’”