Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American politician currently serving as the 46th Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, Brownback served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1996, representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate from 1996 to 2011. He ran for president in 2008, but withdrew before the primaries began and endorsed eventual Republican nominee John McCain. He was elected Governor of Kansas in 2010 and took office in January 2011.
Brownback supported the 2007 Iraq War troop surge and has also voiced his support for Israel. He supports marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He has described himself as pro-life. As Governor, Brownback signed into law one of the largest income tax cuts in Kansas' history. Brownback turned down a $31.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to set up an insurance exchange as part of the federal health care reform law, signed a bill that blocked tax breaks for abortion providers, banned sex-selection abortions, and declared that life begins at fertilization. Brownback's aggressive tax cuts created a substantial budget deficit, leading former and current Republicans officials to criticize his leadership in the run-up to the 2014 gubernatorial election by endorsing his opponent.