Republican Gov. Sam Brownback says Kansas should defend the state constitution’s ban on gay marriage in court because the people have spoken on the issue.

A spokesman for Brownback’s Democratic challenger, Paul Davis, said Tuesday that Davis is focused on issues that unite Kansas residents, including education and the economy.

Kansas voters approved the gay marriage ban in 2005. But the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals from five states seeking to retain their gay-marriage bans. One of them was Utah, which is in the same federal appeals court circuit as Kansas.

Brownback is in a tough race for re-election with Davis.

The governor has publicly declared his support for the gay marriage ban. As a Kansas House member, Davis opposed putting the ban on the ballot.