Topeka ? Former Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mark Parkinson switched to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, increasing speculation that he will join Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as her lieutenant governor running mate and spotlighting the political warfare within the state GOP.

Parkinson, 48, an attorney from Olathe and former Republican legislator, did not return telephone messages Tuesday.

Sebelius’ campaign declined to comment, saying she would announce her selection of a new running mate today at an event on the Kansas University Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

The conversion of Parkinson and possible placement on the top statewide ticket stunned the Kansas political world.

The Kansas Republican Party dominates state politics. Of the state’s 1.7 million voters, approximately 780,000 are registered as Republican, 450,000 are registered Democrats and 450,000 are unaffiliated, with the rest registered with minor parties.

But the GOP has been racked by infighting over issues such as abortion, school funding and stem cell research.

Republican reaction

While Democrats were tight-lipped about Parkinson’s plans, Republican emotions ranged from outrage to disappointment that a star in the GOP crossed party lines.

“I’m disgusted,” House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said.

Mays accused Parkinson of being opportunistic and disloyal. Although the state Republican Party has moved further right in recent years, he said it still had a place for politicians like Parkinson.

“I can’t describe how shocked and disappointed I am,” he said.

State Republican Party Chairman Tim Shallenburger predicted that Parkinson would blame his switch on the GOP moving too far right to suit him.

“An enormous hypocrisy is about to be unveiled (today),” Shallenburger said. “It ought to be a hoot.”

Shallenburger invited other Republicans to leave the party.

“If you think taxes should be higher and schools should be run by the government, then become Democrats. Make my life simpler,” he said.

But other Republicans said it was the rightward march by the party that was driving some members away.

They pointed to the Republican majority on the Kansas State Board of Education, which adopted science standards that criticize evolution and hired as education commissioner Bob Corkins, who had no experience in the education field and proposed using tax dollars for private schools. And they pointed to some in the GOP who spend most of their time focusing on opposing abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

“The right-wing nature of the party is what is causing good people like Mark Parkinson to leave the Republican Party,” said Andy Wollen, chairman of the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority. “It is scary and dangerous.”

Switch anticipated

Parkinson already had indicated his displeasure with some in the GOP by signing on as co-chair of Paul Morrison’s campaign to unseat Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, a Republican. Morrison switched to the Democratic Party to run against Kline.

In 2004, Parkinson was chairman of the Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce when it cut its ties to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce because of the statewide organization’s opposition to a tax increase for schools.

At the time, Parkinson said: “The state chamber’s position that there be no additional funding of schools is short-sighted and unrealistic. When its No. 1 priority is opposite of our No. 1 priority, it is time to say goodbye.”

Parkinson was chairman of the state GOP from 1999 to 2003.

During the 2002 governor’s race, Parkinson and other prominent Republicans met when it became apparent that then-Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall, a Republican, was not going to run to try to succeed Republican Gov. Bill Graves, who could not seek a third term.

At the time, Shallenburger, who was running for governor, expressed displeasure that he was left out of the meeting.

Shallenburger said then that Parkinson was part of a small group of Republicans who “are concerned that I am not the kind of Republican they want.”

Democrats favor Parkinson

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Democratic leaders said they didn’t know for sure whom Sebelius would pick but that Parkinson would be a good nominee.

“He is a real even-keeled, thoughtful guy,” said Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka.

“I believe he believes he is more philosophically attuned with Democrats. It’s the old adage: He didn’t leave the party; the party left him,” Hensley said.

In 2002, Sebelius picked another Republican – John Moore, a Cessna executive from Wichita – as her running mate. Earlier this month, Moore said he would not seek a second term as lieutenant governor, wanting instead to spend more time with his family in Wichita.

Sebelius’ ability to pull in Republican voters was the winning difference in 2002 when she defeated Shallenburger. Coming from Johnson County, Parkinson also would bring a geographic benefit to the ticket. The county is the largest in the state and is home to nearly 21 percent of Kansas voters.