08/27/2026
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Democratic Treasurer Nominee Misstates Core Treasurer Program
TOPEKA – (August 27, 2026) – The Kansas Republican Party today said the Democratic treasurer candidate’s first campaign pillar is based on an inaccurate description of the state’s existing education savings program.
Juan Luengo has pledged to “expand Kansas’s 529 plan to cover four-year colleges, the trades and apprenticeships,” but Kansas 529 accounts already may be used for two- and four-year colleges, eligible career and technical programs, registered apprenticeships, and certain credentialing expenses. Federal 529 rules have long authorized qualified higher-education expenses, including those categories.
The Dem nominee's campaign also refers to the program as “Learning Quest,” online. That's the plan’s former name. The program was rebranded Quest529 in March 2026 under Treasurer Steven Johnson.
Quest529 holds more than $16 billion in assets. Kansas GOP officials said a candidate seeking to administer the program should accurately identify it and describe what it already covers.
“The Democratic treasurer nominee has no business asking Kansas to trust him with a program he has not bothered to understand,” Kansas Republican Party Chair Danedri Herbert said. “Kansans deserve a treasurer who can lead on the issues, not someone who requires the office to train them. Treasurer Johnson oversaw the Quest529 modernization, reduced annual fees paid by account owners by more than $25 million, and helped position the plan among the lowest-cost education savings programs in the country. His peers selected him to chair the 529 Network, and we know voters will return Steven Johnson to the treasurer's office on Election Day."
The election is Nov. 3.