Colyer’s a gent, Kobach’s a boor; guess who’s on top?

In Friday night’s debate between Republican gubernatorial candidates, Gov. Jeff Colyer won by a landslide — if civility was the marker.

But if mudslinging was the goal, then Kris Kobach, secretary of state, came out on top.

Kobach attacked Colyer’s support of public schools by saying his willingness to sign a bill that pledges $500 million toward their funding amounted to paying a “king’s ransom,” and would work only to encourage more requests.

Kansas schools have more than enough funding, Kobach said, calling them “Taj Majals,” and pointed to his own days at Topeka’s Washburn Rural High School where some classes were here held in trailers.

That “good-enough-for-me” logic is as trite as the day is long and an insult to school districts fighting to catch up on 10 years of lost funding.

For those districts falling behind in standardized test scores, Kobach said he would “flunk” them by giving students vouchers to attend elsewhere. That’s the spirit.

Kobach took a page out of President Trump’s playbook and taunted Gov. Colyer as being naive, saying he’s living in a “fantasy world.”

Colyer refused to take Kobach’s bait, maintaining the calm decorum he honed after seven years as Gov. Brownback’s lieutenant governor. “I don’t need to scream and shout,” Colyer said afterward. “I get results.”

Of course, that verdict is still out. The school funding bill has yet to make it to the governor’s desk, but it’s nice to know he at least values public education.

Also present at the Atchison debate was Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer, who, while no fan of Colyer’s, was equally disciplined.

Notably absent was candidate Jim Barnett, who has refused to participate in the debates because of their restrictive format. New to this campaign, the state Republican Party devised debate guidelines that forbid any follow-up questions.

Barnett, an Emporia physician and former state senator, maintains the provision is designed not only to restrain robust debate but also to protect incumbents from having to answer any challenging questions about their performances to date.

Taking the high road, though commendable, is keeping Barnett out of the spotlight at a time when name recognition is critical.

And that’s where Kobach is king.

In a recent poll of gubernatorial candidates conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, Kobach’s moniker was recognized by 85.2 percent of the 1,405 Kansas residents contacted. Greg Orman, the independent candidate, came in a distant second, 56.7 percent, closely followed by Gov. Colyer, 54.8 percent. Barnett came in fourth, 40.9 percent; Selzer, 21.3 percent.

But there’s a flip side to those numbers.

Of those polled, almost 50 percent gave Kobach a negative rating, compared to only about 30 percent who viewed him in a positive light.