Topeka — A possible election challenge to Gov. Sam Brownback by former Senate President Steve Morris has been batted around the Twitterverse recently.

Contacted by phone, Morris, a Republican from Hugoton, said he has no plans to run for governor in 2014, but he added, “In this business, you never want to say never.”

Morris said there was been discussion around the state of trying to challenge Brownback, a conservative Republican, with an independent or third-party candidate. He said there is probably no way a moderate Republican could defeat Brownback during the GOP primary because of the strength of conservatives within the party.

Morris said he believes Brownback’s income tax cuts are hurting the state.

“The tax plan that the governor engineered last year was a big mistake, and this (Brownback’s desire to eliminate the state income tax altogether) would just compound that mistake,” he said.

Morris was one of 9 moderate Republican senators who were defeated in the GOP primary in August 2012. The moderates were targeted by Wichita-based Koch Industries and groups loyal to Brownback, such as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Kansans for Life.