Editing Sam Brownback (section)

==Relationship with Koch family==
Throughout his Senate career, Brownback's principal campaign donors were the politically influential libertarian [[Koch family|Koch brothers]] of Kansas, and their enterprises, including Kansas-based [[Koch Industries]]—and Brownback was one of the candidates most-heavily funded by the Kochs' campaign donations. Over the course of his political career, they donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns.<ref name="koch_influence_2014_12_14_wichita_eagle" /><ref name="demos_highlight_2010_09_19_mclatchydc_com" /><ref name="this_is_whats_the_matter_2014_09_29_new_republic" /><ref name="kansas_tries_2014_04_17_bloomberg_bizweek" /><ref name="tea_party_tenets_2011_12_21_washpost" />

Brownback's signature tax and regulatory policies coincide tightly with the Kochs' position on those issues.<ref name="koch_influence_2014_12_14_wichita_eagle" /><ref name="demos_highlight_2010_09_19_mclatchydc_com" /> It was crafted with the assistance of the Koch-backed [[American Legislative Exchange Council]] (ALEC) and Brownback's first Budget Director, Steve Anderson. Anderson was a former Koch employee who previously worked at the Kochs' principal political organization, the libertarian think-tank [[Americans for Prosperity]] (AFP), developing a "model budget" for Kansas, until his appointment as Brownback's first budget director. Anderson remained Brownback's budget director for three years, before returning to a Koch-linked [[think tank]], the [[Kansas Policy Institute]].<ref name="budget_director_2013_09_06_ljworld_com">Rothschild, Scott, [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/sep/06/brownbacks-former-budget-director-anderson-will-co/ "Brownback's former budget director, Anderson, will work on state fiscal policy with KPI,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150902070537/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/sep/06/brownbacks-former-budget-director-anderson-will-co/ |date=September 2, 2015 }} September 6, 2013, ''[[Lawrence Journal-World]]'' retrieved October 5, 2017</ref><ref name="former_budget_dir_2013_09_07_ap_cjonline_com">[[Associated Press]], [http://cjonline.com/news-legislature-state/2013-09-07/former-kansas-budget-director-work-kansas-policy-institute "Former Kansas Budget Director to work for Kansas Policy Institute,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006113032/http://cjonline.com/news-legislature-state/2013-09-07/former-kansas-budget-director-work-kansas-policy-institute |date=October 6, 2017 }} September 13, 2013, ''[[Topeka Capital-Journal]];'' also at ["Brownback's Ex Budget Director To Work For Kansas Policy Institute,"], September 9, 2013, [[KMUW-FM]], [[Wichita State University]]; retrieved October 5, 2017</ref><ref name="this_is_whats_the_matter_2014_09_29_new_republic" />

Brownback also hired the wife of a Koch-enterprise executive as his spokesperson.<ref name="tea_party_tenets_2011_12_21_washpost" />

Brownback, however, has denied that the Kochs have an undue influence in Kansas government,<ref name="koch_influence_2014_12_14_wichita_eagle" /> and analysts have noted key differences between Brownback and the Kochs in two of Brownback's main gubernatorial policy areas: 
* social issues: (on abortion, Brownback is pro-life, the Kochs pro-choice; Brownback opposes various [[LGBT]] rights, the libertarian Kochs accept them);<ref name="koch_influence_2014_12_14_wichita_eagle" /><ref name="this_is_whats_the_matter_2014_09_29_new_republic" /> and
* renewable energy standards for Kansas, which promote renewable energy (supported by Brownback; opposed by the Kochs, whose chief business is the fossil-fuel industry).<ref name="koch_influence_2014_12_14_wichita_eagle" /><ref name="this_is_whats_the_matter_2014_09_29_new_republic" />