Tagged: Kris Kobach

By AP/KCUR

A law professor who helped draft Arizona's new immigration statute won the Republican primary for Kansas secretary of state.

Kris Kobach defeated two other GOP candidates Tuesday- Shawnee County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley of Topeka and former chief executive officer of the National Association of Government Contractors J.R. Claeys of Salina.

Kobach had linked illegal immigration to voter fraud. Because of his immigration work critics question whether he will be a full-time secretary of state.

The Secretary of State's race in Kansas has become one of the most important races of the election season. Why? Because issues like immigration and questions about government accountability are part of the debate.

At the center of that debate -the controversial, telegenic UMKC law professor and immigration activist, Kris Kobach.

Kobach's been exciting crowds at fundraisers and Tea Party rallies all year. When Sarah Palin was in Independence, people cheered Kobach almost as much as Palin.

Overland Park, Kansas – A bomb scare at a fundraiser for Kansas Secretary of State candidate Kris Kobach turned out to be a false alarm last night, but the overflow crowd never seemed concerned.

Police estimated some 1500 people were at the Ritz Charles Hotel in Overland Park as Kobach introduced guest speaker Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Maricopa County, Arizona.

Overland Park police chief John Douglass was rushed to the mike to make an announcement:

Kansas City – It's unclear how news of financial mismanagement at the Kansas GOP will affect the race for Secretary of State.

The Topeka Capitol Journal reported earlier this week that an FEC audit revealed the Kansas GOP inappropriately or illegally handled hundreds of thousands of dollars during 2007 and 2008.

Kris Kobach, now a candidate for Secretary of State, was the party chair during that time.

Kobach said he knew the issue is a distraction, but said he wasn't concerned it would hurt him politically.

One recent piece of legislation that was seen as a victory for Latino immigrants is the 2004 law allowing undocumented students who went to high school in Kansas to pay in-state tuition rates at local colleges. That law has been challenged each year since, in the statehouse and in federal court, and has been upheld in both places. But this week, an appeals court in California made a different decision - which could lead to the repeal of instate tuition benefits for illegal immigrants in that state.