You must be a natural-born citizen to run for president, 21 to purchase alcohol, and 16 to get your driver's license, but it seems all you need to become the governor of Kansas is a pulse.
That worries one of the state's newest gubernatorial candidates, Ethan Randleas, a 17-year-old "conservatarian" from Wichita. He just announced he's entering the race, joining two other fresh-faced high school students: Democrat Jack Bergeson, 16, and Republican Tyler Ruzich, 17. This lack of requirements has Randleas wondering if he'll be up against Fido on the ballot. Kansas needs "some way to make sure we don't have, like, a dog run," Randleas told The Kansas City Star. "Because I'm sure someone's going to think about it and be like, 'Well, you know, it might be funny to have my dog run. I'm going to have my dog run for governor.' And they'll fork over $2,000 to get it on the primary ballot as a joke."
Bryan Caskey, director of elections at the Kansas secretary of state's office, was stumped, telling The Star he's "not sure how to answer that, because I cannot point to a law that sets any qualifications to run for a governor." On the other hand, the Kansas Constitution does say "no person may be elected to more than two successive terms as governor" — the key word being "person," not "man's best friend."
While basically anyone can run for governor, The Kansas City Star points out that the state has some of the strictest voting requirements, which have been challenged in court. Under the law, which has been championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach — who's also a gubernatorial candidate, Breitbart columnist, and voter fraud conspiracy theorist — voters must provide proof of citizenship when they register and show a photo ID at the polls.