GREAT BEND, Kan. - State Senator Holland's biography offers some interesting comparisons and contrasts with his Republican opponent U.S. Senator Sam Brownback. One of these men will be the next Governor of Kansas.
One area where Holland has a huge edge over Brownback is in business experience, time spent working in the private sector. Holland has spent 29 years in the information technology business, first working on a major IT systems initiative at the ATSF railway. 
Sen. HollandHe founded Holland Technologies, Inc., an information technology firm in 1992, serving as the company's president. Holland is clearly a "private sector" guy, who got involved in politics fairly late in life to push for better education opportunities for Kansas children.
Senator Brownback's resume is pretty thin on private sector experience. He worked for a radio station as a broadcaster for about a year after his undergraduate work at KSU, and then went to law school at KU. After law school, he spent several years practicing law in Manhattan before becoming State Agriculture Secretary in 1986.
Brownback left the private sector permanently in 1986. Brownback has spent the last 24 years working for the government, while Holland continues to run a small business while serving as a part-time citizen-legislator.