Topeka ? U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who is the leading candidate for governor, says he wants to reduce state regulations, but so far hasn’t offered any details.

In January, at a Kansas Chamber forum, Brownback said low taxes and an open regulatory system were key. “We’ve got to look more like Texas and a lot less like California,” he said.

Recently at two stops — Fort Scott and Kansas City, Mo. — Brownback talked about starting an Office of Repealer to ferret out regulations that have outlived their usefulness.

The New York Times quoted him, saying, “People just love this idea. They feel like they’re getting their brains regulated out of them.” Brownback said he would use an existing position to accomplish the task instead of creating a new position, the Times reported.

But when asked by the Lawrence Journal-World for some examples of state regulations that he would like to get rid of, Brownback’s campaign declined to say and instead put a video exchange between Brownback and the New York Times reporter on Twitter. No details emerged there, either.

Brownback made a general comment about the growth of regulations, saying: “nothing is ever subtracted in the system,” and then added, “I’d like to get the legislative committees, urge the Legislature to appoint repealing committees.”

The campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Holland, a state senator from Baldwin City, criticized Brownback’s repealer idea.

Holland’s campaign spokesman Seth Bundy said, “This sounds like the same campaign gimmick he rolled out 15 years ago on his way to Washington. But once he got there, he voted for more spending, put us deeper into debt and personally sponsored billions in earmarks.”