[2][3] He graduated from Thomas More Prep High School in 1978[4] before enrolling at Georgetown University, where he took pre-med courses and earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1981.

[5] Colyer was a White House fellow under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, working in international affairs.

[5] He volunteers with the International Medical Corps, providing care in such areas as Kosovo and Sierra Leone; in this capacity, he has performed both trauma and reconstructive surgery as well as training local doctors.

Colyer resigned his state senate seat on January 10, 2011, prior to taking the oath of office as lieutenant governor.

[14] In late September 2014 Colyer's chief of staff, Tim Keck, unearthed and publicized a 1998 police report that noted that Davis, 26 and unmarried at the time, had been briefly detained during a raid on a strip club.

Media law experts were amazed after learning that Montgomery County's sheriff had released non-public investigative files from 1998 with just a records request.

"[22] The New York Times noted that the Kansas authorities' actions "reignited long-running conspiracy theories that the president was not born in the United States".

They stated a need to review his birth certificate and other documents from Hawaii, Arizona, and Mississippi before they could respond to a complaint alleging that the president was not a "natural born citizen".

"Given the cursory response from President Obama, the Board is merely attempting to obtain additional information before making a decision," said Kobach's spokesperson.

[24] As lieutenant governor, Colyer led the Kansas Medicaid transformation, which has saved Kansans $2 billion since 2013 while increasing services.

Another required the Kansas Department for Children and Families[36] to release more information following the death of a child in the state's custody or after reports of abuse.

[42] During the campaign Colyer was supported by former U.S. Senate majority leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, the NRA Political Victory Fund, and the Kansas Farm Bureau.

[54][55] In February 2020, HHS Secretary Alex Azar appointed Colyer to chair the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health (NACRHHS).

[56][57] Colyer campaigned for the Republican nomination in the 2022 gubernatorial election, but withdrew from the race in August 2021, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.