It would be unfortunate if Kansas Democrats fail to field a candidate who can make a contest of the 2010 Kansas governor’s race.

The party’s leading candidate, Tom Wiggans of Overland Park, withdrew from the race on Wednesday, only a few weeks after announcing his candidacy. A spokeswoman for the campaign acknowledged that Wiggans would have a difficult time defeating Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who entered the governor’s race months ago.

In addition to having strong name recognition in the state, Brownback already has a significant campaign war chest. The Wiggans campaign said it had determined that countering those two Brownback advantages was an “insurmountable” obstacle for the Democrat.

Wiggans isn’t the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, to be scared away from this race by a strong Brownback candidacy. Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh bowed out of the Republican primary race early on after being unable to meet his fundraising goals. As of now, there are no other Republicans in the race and only one Democrat, a candidate who ran unsuccessfully for Miami County sheriff in 2008.

It’s no secret that running for office is an expensive proposition and that the ability to spend large sums on advertising is a huge part in a statewide campaign. Brownback has that advantage, and it would take a well-known candidate who quickly could attract significant financial support to mount a serious challenge for the governor’s seat. It may be unfortunate that money is such an important factor in the race, but it is.

Whether or not a majority of Kansans favors Brownback as the next governor, the lack of a vigorous, issues-based campaign is a serious loss for the state. Kansans deserve to know where their next governor stands on a whole variety of issues. A competitive campaign helps clarify those stands by forcing candidates to move beyond campaign platitudes. This is true in any political race.

There still is time for a Democratic candidate to make the 2010 governor’s race a competitive campaign — but not much. Democrats owe it to the state to find the strongest candidate they can and work to garner the financial support to run a campaign that forces a serious discussion of issues facing the state.