At a barbecue restaurant where a stabbing recently occurred, a Republican hopeful for Kansas governor warned supporters against what he sees as the dangers of violent crime in Johnson County.
On Tuesday, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, one of several Republicans running for governor in 2026, held a rally at Hayward’s Pit Bar B Que in Shawnee to help raise funds for the restaurant after Reilly Sweeney, an employee at the restaurant, was stabbed there on July 31.
During the event, which was attended by 50 people, Masterson said he’s made violent crime one of his campaign’s big focus areas because he views it as a major issue statewide.
Citing the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s 2024 Crime Index, Masterson said Kansas averaged about 35 violent crimes per day, with a total of 12,643 violent crimes reported in 2024.
Of those, Johnson County reported 1,275 violent crimes. Within that county figure, the highest ranking numbers were Olathe at 305 and Overland Park at 385 reported crimes (the county’s two biggest cities).
Still, the overall statewide crime rate was the lowest reported in over 20 years, according to the KBI report.
But Masterson warned that violent crime can hit places like Johnson County, even if its residents don’t seem to think it’s a problem.
“There’s a little bit of a feeling of insulation here because you have a lot of wealth in the county, but it shows you it can penetrate even here,” he said Tuesday. “People expect this in — and they shouldn’t, but they do — in inner-city Wichita or inner-city Kansas City. You don’t expect it at Hayward’s in Shawnee.”
While Masterson said violent crime is not as big of an issue in Johnson County as it is in other areas of Kansas, he wants people across the state to be aware of it and care about it.
“It’s not as big a problem, obviously, as it is elsewhere. But in order to win the election and make the change, I need people here to care about it,” he said. “We tend to not care about things until it’s affecting us. And so that’s why I want people (to know) it can affect us in Johnson County.”
Masterson trying to distinguish himself in crowded field
Masterson joins a crowded slate of Republican and Democratic candidates vying for the state’s top seat.
At least half of the 12 gubernatorial candidates are from Johnson County, including Democratic state Senator Ethan Corson of Fairway, who told the Post via email that he agrees violent crime needs to be addressed.
“While it’s true that crime in Kansas has fallen to a 20-year low, we know that as long as violence like this still occurs, we must continue to aggressively fight against it. Again, this is never acceptable and must be stopped,” he said via email.
Another Johnson County Democrat who has declared her candidacy for governor, Overland Park Sen. Cindy Holscher, did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
An owner of Hayward’s Bar B Que did not return a request for comment, but the restaurant advertised the rally on social media.
“Join us tomorrow to show your support for our business as we take a stand against crime in our community,” the restaurant stated on a post on Facebook.
The stabbing occurred in July
On July 31, Shawnee police were called to the restaurant at 10901 W. 75th St. at 1:32 p.m. for a report of a physical disturbance where an employee was stabbed by a man.
The suspect was later identified as Maikol Valdes, who was later apprehended in Lenexa after an hours-long manhunt.
Valdes has been charged in Johnson County District Court with attempted murder in the first degree and attempted battery of a law enforcement officer. He made an appearance for a preliminary hearing for the incident on Tuesday.
Valdes is being held in the Johnson County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office inmate listing.
Valdes also faces charges in Missouri, including armed criminal action and first-degree assault, for a violent attack in 2024 when he pulled out a handgun on security officers at a Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, that were trying to arrest him.
During that altercation, Valdes pointed the gun at the officers, but one of them was able to push his hand down, causing him to fire a bullet into the floor, according to court documents retrieved by KSHB.
When the stabbing in Shawnee happened, Valdes was out on a $75,000 bond for the attack at Saint Luke’s that he posted several months after the alleged crime. A jury trial is scheduled in Jackson County District Court on Oct. 14 for the St. Luke’s incident.
Cases like Valdes’ shouldn’t happen, Masterson said.
“He pistol-whipped a security guard at the hospital … and discharged it in the hospital. And the next day, he’s out to come and (does) this. So, we’ve got to have less of that,” he said.
There’s also a judicial component to reducing violent crime, he added.
“We’re trying to accomplish to let Kansans have a say at the (Kansas) Supreme Court. That type of stuff finds its way down because our current Supreme Court’s been pretty soft on crime,” he said.
Masterson laid out other goals
During the rally, Masterson laid out other goals, including changes to tax policy, addressing social issues and, if elected, overcoming Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto power and the Kansas Supreme Court, which he said has hindered some of the Republican Party’s goals.
“Kansas has gone back and forth for 15 of the last 23 years … (It’s) governed by liberal Democrats … We need to get control back of the branches we’re missing, and then let’s start really making Kansas more affordable and safer and stronger,” he said.
He also answered questions from the audience about his stances on topics like housing, sanctuary cities, paper ballots and effective leadership.
One of the people at the rally, former Shawnee City Councilmember Eric Jenkins, praised President Donald Trump and asked Masterson to reflect the president’s leadership.
“President Trump has made incredible strides in just six or seven months, and we want leaders in Kansas,” Jenkins said. “Well, I think you’d be one hell of a leader.”
Closing out his speech, Masterson cited an op-ed piece in the Kansas Reflector, which he jokingly called the “Kansas Refractor,” that called him “brutally effective in his chamber.”
“That’s exactly what I want to be: ‘Brutally effective,'” he said.
