WICHITA, Kansas — Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach kicked off a race for state attorney general Thursday, aiming his hardline immigration and voting policy politics at the state’s top legal and law enforcement office.
Kobach called the office a last line of defense against policies pushed by President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress. Kobach raised concerns about limiting gun rights, the federal government setting election laws and immigration policy.
“If the Biden administration tries to take away our Second Amendment rights here in Kansas, they’ll have to get through me first,” Kobach said at an event in Wichita announcing his run. “If the Biden administration tries to relocate illegal aliens to Kansas in violation of the standards of federal law, they’ll have to get through me first.”
Kobach raised the profile of the secretary of state’s office by bringing it to the forefront of voter security fights. That office typically handles administrative and election duties and flies under the radar.
With duties in law enforcement and representing the state in court, as attorney general Kobach would hold an even more powerful platform for pushing those issues.
Should he win the Republican primary and the general election — he’s got deep support among conservatives, and just as strong opposition from moderates and Democrats — he’d enter the job with a national profile rare for a state attorney general even rarer for a Kansas politician.
Kobach said he’d work to defend any abortion restrictions approved by state lawmakers.
“When the Legislature passes a law to protect the unborn or to protect our way of life in a manner the Left does not like, the ACLU and its allies inevitably sue,” Kobach said in a news release. “The attorney general must have the expertise and the willingness to defend our laws in court.”
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Kansas Constitution protects the right to an abortion. Voters will decide in the August 2022 primary, when Kobach seeks his party’s nomination for attorney general, whether to reverse that ruling. The ballot measure is likely to draw more anti-abortion voters to the polls.
Critics of the amendment say it could open the door to lawmakers approving much stricter abortion laws or even an outright ban. Supporters say it’s needed to protect regulations Kansas has already imposed on abortion.
Kobach had filed documents late Wednesday night to appoint a treasurer for his campaign. That’s the initial step for raising money for his campaign.
His latest move comes after high-profile losses for the aggressively conservative Republican — losing the governor’s race to Democrat Laura Kelly in 2018 and falling short of the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2020.
The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, a powerful lobbying group that often backs Republicans, blasted Kobach’s decision to run. The head of the group said business leaders have concerns that Kobach would be effective as attorney general.
“The next attorney general of Kansas needs to be someone who is trusted, competent and focused on Kansas,” Chamber President and CEO Alan Cobb said in a statement. “Kobach’s candidacy puts too much at risk.”
The attorney general’s office is slated to open up because Republican incumbent Derek Schmidt announced he’s running for governor. Former Gov. Jeff Colyer is also in that race.
Kobach has been a lightning rod, with a dedicated base of supporters who helped him narrowly defeat fellow Republican then-Gov. Colyer in the 2018 primary election. But his positions also energize opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.
After losing the governor’s race, some Republican groups turned on him during his 2020 run for the U.S. Senate. They argued nominating him would risk losing the office to a Democrat. Kobach ultimately lost the GOP primary to then-U.S.Rep.Roger Marshall.
Serving as attorney general would bring Kobach back into a statewide office — a potentially bigger stage than what he had as secretary of state. Even in that job, a largely record-keeping job that politicians often use as a stepping stone, he built a national reputation as an immigration hardliner and for pressing often-refuted claims about the prevalence of voter fraud.
Kobach pushed through the passage of a strict Kansas voting law that required proof of citizenship. Kobach argued it kept elections secure, but critics said it prevented thousands of eligible Kansans from registering to vote.
The law was eventually knocked down in court, and he faced judicial sanctions for how he performed in the case. His arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court brought him chastisements from the judge.
Kobach has also been a close ally of former President Donald Trump, winning Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement in the GOP primary for governor. Kobach also led a voter fraud commission created by Trump that Trump dissolved after pushback from states and a lack of evidence of widespread cheating. Kobach defended Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2016 and 2020 elections. He also advised the president on immigration issues.
In the years following his 2018 loss to Kelly, Kobach served as director and general counsel for We Build The Wall — a 501(c)4 nonprofit that was crowdsourcing millions of dollars to build a private border wall on the country’s southern border. All the group’s leaders,except Kobach, were later charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In October 2020, Kobach made headlines again for peddling a refrigerator-sized device touted as a COVID-killing machine and a large room sanitizer to Kansas legislators, promising an investment could bring hundreds of jobs to Wichita. The efficacy of the products made by Wichita-based MoJack Distributors has not been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency or health experts.
It’s still very early in the race, so there’s time for candidates to change their minds and run for different offices or drop their races altogether.
Abigail Censky of the Kansas News Service and Nadya Faulx of KMUW contributed to this report.
Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter and news editor for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Koranda or email him at stephenkoranda (at) kcur (dot) org.The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
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