Scott Morgan is a fifth-generation Kansan whose family settled in Jefferson County in 1856. He grew up in Shawnee, attended Shawnee Mission public schools, and was raised in a family deeply connected to Kansas civic life. His father, Ray Morgan, was a long-time reporter for the Kansas City Star covering Kansas politics. Morgan graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism and a law degree. He is married to Kathleen O’Leary Morgan.

After college, Morgan worked in Washington for Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum before returning to KU Law School. After graduating and passing the Kansas Bar, he returned to Washington where he served as Staff Counsel for Senator Bob Dole on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, was a non-voting member of the Federal Election Commission representing the U.S. Senate, and later became Chief Counsel for Senator Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign. During that same period, Kathleen worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation, ultimately serving as Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs under Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole.

The Morgans returned to Lawrence in 1988, where Morgan served as Chief Counsel and Director of Federal Affairs for Governor Mike Hayden. After a brief period in private law practice, Scott and Kathleen started Morgan Quitno Press, a publishing company specializing in state and city statistical reference books and databases. The Morgans built the company until selling it in 2007 to CQ Press, the publishing division of Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. Morgan continued editing publications and databases for CQ Press, now part of SAGE Publishing, until 2020.

Morgan has remained active in public service and civic life throughout his career. He served two terms on the Lawrence School Board and has been involved in numerous community, civic, and political organizations. He was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress and State Senate (losing both). In 2014, he challenged Kris Kobach in the Republican primary for Secretary of State. Sure, he lost that one too. He is consistent.

Over time, Morgan became increasingly concerned about growing polarization and the shrinking political space for pragmatic and independent-minded Kansans.

Following his campaign for Secretary of State, Morgan and others involved in that effort began working to build a new political home for moderate and independent-minded Kansans. While that “Party of the Center” effort did not reach certification, it helped grow the network of interested Kansans. In 2025, he helped launch the Free State Party, which merged with United Kansas in 2026. He now serves as Executive Director of United Kansas, which will appear on the Kansas ballot in 2026.

Scott and Kathleen have three grown children and are active members of Plymouth Congregational Church. As a family, they visited all 50 states together through many years of camping, reaching the lower 48 by minivan. Their children are recovering.