By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

Get used to the sound of it. Governor Sam Brownback.

Ron Thornburgh, the well-liked but underfunded Kansas secretary of state, announced today he was bailing out of a GOP primary. PrimeBuzz has the breaking news.

Chris Steineger, the Democratic senator from Wyandotte County, is interested in challenging Brownback. But when Steineger nominated himself to challenge Anthony Hensley for Senate minority leader at the start of the last session, none of his colleagues would second the nomination. Not a good sign.

At this point, it looks like Brownback can start measuring the drapes in the governor's office. And that will mean big changes in the state of Kansas.