Willis E. "Wink" Hartman (born February 1, 1946) is an American businessman and political candidate from the state of Kansas.
Early life
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Hartman attended Wichita Southeast High School, class of 1964, and graduated from Wichita State University.[1][2]
Business career
Hartman's grandfather founded Hartman Oil Co. Before Hartman inherited the company, he gained experience working for the Derby Oil Company, Xerox Corporation, and Del Monte Foods. He purchased a controlling interest in Hartman Oil from his father in 1990. He opened restaurants in Wichita, El Dorado, Kansas and Lawrence, Kansas.
Hartman founded the Wichita Wild, an indoor football team, in 2007.[3]
Hartman was the co-owner of the Indycar team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, along with former driver Sarah Fisher from 2012 to 2014 when it merged with Ed Carpenter Racing to create CFH Racing. Hartman and Fisher later sold their shares in the team to former race car driver Carpenter.[4]
Hartman described alleged harassment by customers and locals, which were not verified by his employees. He associated the claimed acts with his candidacy as Kobach's running mate at his two Jimmy's Eggs Lawrence restaurants in which he said he had invested about $1.5 million. Hartman closed them suddenly without giving his employees any prior notice.[5] A manager who worked at both restaurants said she never witnessed any hostile acts, but staff at both locations had not expected them to succeed financially.[5] Hartman had also closed two Jimmy's Eggs restaurants in Wichita.[5]
Politics
Hartman ran unsuccessfully to represent Kansas's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in the 2010 elections.[6]
In 2011, Hartman hired Michael O'Donnell, for a marketing job at which O'Donnell worked part-time, during the same year O'Donnell was running for Wichita City Council.[7]
In February 2017, Hartman declared his candidacy for Governor of Kansas in the 2018 election.[8] After loaning it $1.6 million,[9] he ended his gubernatorial campaign in February 2018, endorsing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.[10] The next month, Kobach selected Hartman as his Lieutenant Gubernatorial candidate.[11] The joint ticket of Kobach and Hartman was defeated by the Democratic ticket of state Senators Laura Kelly and Lynn Rogers, 48.0% to 43.0%, with the Independent ticket of Greg Orman and Republican state Senator John Doll, finishing third with 6.5%.[12][13]
In January 2019, Hartmann announced that he was "seriously considering entering the race" in 2020 for the open United States Senate seat to replace Pat Roberts but ultimately did not do so.[14]
Personal life
Hartman and his wife Libba live in Rose Hill, Kansas on a 600-acre (240 ha) ranch outside of Wichita.[4]
References
- ^ Mary Clarkin (September 13, 2017). "Hartman: Fed Up! and running for governor - News - The Hutchinson News - Hutchinson, KS". Hutchnews.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Southeast High School, Old Friends. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ Lefler, Dion (July 21, 2010). "Willis "Wink" Hartman emphasizes his job-creation efforts | The Wichita Eagle". Kansas.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ a b "A Wealthy Guardian Angel Lands at Indy 500". Cnbc.com. May 25, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c Wichitan Wink Hartman closes two Lawrence restaurants over political backlash, he says, Kansas City Star, Denise Neil, October 31, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ Carrie Rengers (October 30, 2013). "Wink Hartman Sr. may run for office again | The Wichita Eagle". Kansas.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ "District 2 Sedgwick County Commission Race: Michael O'Donnell Wants to Transcend Political Divide," October 9, 2016, Wichita Eagle, page 1B, photocopy retrieved from Issuu.com, December 28, 2020
- ^ Salazardsalazar, Daniel (February 15, 2017). "Wink Hartman running for governor 'because it's time to fix Topeka' | The Wichita Eagle". Kansas.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ A day after contempt hearing, Kobach picks running mate who earlier was harsh critic, Kansas City Star, Hunter Woodall and Bryan Lowry, March 21, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ Woodall, Hunter (February 21, 2018). "Wink Hartman drops campaign for Kansas governor, endorses Kobach | The Kansas City Star". Kansascity.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Woodall, Hunter (March 21, 2018). "Kobach names Wichita businessman as running mate | The Kansas City Star". Kansascity.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Jonathan Shorman (May 24, 2018). "Kelly picks fellow state senator from Wichita as running mate". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ Ballotpedia: Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018
- ^ Rengers, Carrie (January 10, 2019). "Wichita businessman Wink Hartman Sr. 'seriously considering' Senate race". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved March 18, 2019.