Kris Kobach

Kris Kobach

Republican Party

Attorney General of Kansas

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

1

Predecessor

Derek Schmidt

Prior offices

Kansas Secretary of State

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Compensation

Base salary

$98,901

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

High school

Washburn Rural High School

Law

Yale University Law School

Ph.D

Oxford University

Personal

Religion

Anglican

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Kris Kobach (Republican Party) is the Attorney General of Kansas. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Kobach (Republican Party) ran for election for Attorney General of Kansas. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Kobach was a candidate for governor of Kansas. He lost the general election on November 6, 2018. Kobach ran on a joint ticket with the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee, Wink Hartman (R).

Kobach was also a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team, a group of advisors tasked with recommending presidential appointments for the incoming administration.

Biography

Kris Kobach graduated from Washburn Rural High School. Kobach earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, a doctorate in politics from Oxford University, and a juris doctor from Yale University. His career experience includes working as a clerk with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, a professor of constitutional law with the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law, and a counsel to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Political career

Kansas Secretary of State (2011-2019)

Kobach defeated incumbent Chris Biggs (D) in the 2010 election for Kansas secretary of state. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Jean Schodorf (D), 59 percent to 41 percent. He served until January 2019.

State Senate and U.S. House campaigns (2000, 2004)

Kobach was defeated in the Republican primary election for state Senate District 8 in 2000.

In 2004, Kobach ran to represent the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. He won the Republican primary election but lost the general election to incumbent Dennis Moore (D).

Elections

2022

See also: Kansas Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kansas

Kris Kobach defeated Chris Mann in the general election for Attorney General of Kansas on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kris Kobach (R)	50.8	506,817
		Chris Mann (D)	49.2	490,925

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 997,742
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Chris Mann advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Mann	100.0	248,846

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 248,846
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Kris Kobach defeated Kellie Warren and Tony Mattivi in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kris Kobach	42.3	200,904
		Kellie Warren	37.9	180,367
		Tony Mattivi	19.8	94,155

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 475,426
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020

United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Kansas

Roger Marshall defeated Barbara Bollier and Jason Buckley in the general election for U.S. Senate Kansas on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Roger Marshall (R)	53.2	727,962
		Barbara Bollier (D)	41.8	571,530
		Jason Buckley (L)	5.0	68,263

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,367,755
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Paul Tuten (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kansas

Barbara Bollier defeated Robert Tillman in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kansas on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Barbara Bollier	85.3	168,759
		Robert Tillman	14.7	28,997

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 197,756 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Usha Reddi (D)
• Elliott Adams (D)
• Nancy Boyda (D)
• Barry Grissom (D)
• Adam Smith (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kansas

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Kansas on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Roger Marshall	40.3	167,800
		Kris Kobach	26.1	108,726
		Bob Hamilton	18.7	77,952
		Dave Lindstrom	6.6	27,451
		Steve Roberts	2.0	8,141
		Brian Matlock	1.7	7,083
		Lance Berland	1.5	6,404
		John Miller	1.1	4,431
		Derek Ellis	1.0	3,970
		Gabriel Mark Robles	0.9	3,744
		John Berman	0.2	861

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 416,563 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bryan Pruitt (R)
• Jacob LaTurner (R)
• Susan Wagle (R)

2018

See also: Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

See also: Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (August 7 Republican primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Kansas

Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach, Greg Orman, Jeff Caldwell, and Rick Kloos in the general election for Governor of Kansas on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laura Kelly (D)	48.0	506,727
		Kris Kobach (R)	43.0	453,645
		Greg Orman (Independent)	6.5	68,590
		Jeff Caldwell (L)	1.9	20,020
		Rick Kloos (Independent)	0.6	6,584

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,055,566
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrea Costley (Independent)
• Aaron Coleman (Independent)
• JoeLarry Hunter (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas

Laura Kelly defeated Carl Brewer, Joshua Svaty, Arden Andersen, and Jack Bergeson in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laura Kelly	51.4	80,377
		Carl Brewer	20.2	31,493
		Joshua Svaty	17.5	27,292
		Arden Andersen	8.4	13,161
		Jack Bergeson	2.5	3,950

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 156,273
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Tabman (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Kansas

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kris Kobach	40.6	128,832
		Jeff Colyer	40.5	128,489
		Jim Barnett	8.8	27,994
		Ken Selzer	7.8	24,804
		Patrick Kucera	1.0	3,212
		Tyler Ruzich	0.7	2,275
		Joseph Tutera Jr.	0.5	1,559

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 317,165
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Kansas secretary of state election, 2014

Secretary of State of Kansas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kris Kobach Incumbent	59.2%	508,926
	Democratic	Jean Schodorf	40.8%	350,692
Total Votes				859,618
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State

Kansas Secretary of State, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kris Kobach Incumbent	64.8%	166,793
Scott Morgan	35.2%	90,680
Total Votes		257,473
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State.

2010

See also: Kansas Secretary of State election, 2010

Kansas Secretary of State, General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kris Kobach	59%	489,640
	Democratic	Chris Biggs	37.2%	308,641
	Libertarian	Phillip Horatio Lucas	2.1%	17,336
	Reform Party	Derek Langseth	1.7%	13,896
Total Votes				829,513
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State

Kansas Secretary of State, Republican Primary, 2010
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kris Kobach	50.7%	156,462
Elizabeth Ensley	27%	83,275
J.R. Claeys	22.4%	69,039
Total Votes		308,776
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State.

2004

U.S. House, Kansas, District 3 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dennis Moore	54.8%	184,050
	Republican	Kris Kobach	43.3%	145,542
	Libertarian	Joe Bellis	1%	3,191
	Reform Party	Richard Wells	0.9%	2,956
Total Votes				335,739

U.S. House, Kansas, District 3 Republican Primary Election, 2004
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kris Kobach	44%	39,129
Adam Taff	43.8%	38,922
Patricia Lightner	12.2%	10,836
Total Votes		88,887

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kris Kobach did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Kris Kobach did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Campaign website

Kobach's campaign website stated the following:

“	Jobs Donald Trump’s historic election and the resulting economic boom has created vasts sums of wealth and thousands of jobs for American workers–and Kansas is no exception. As governor, I will take the same low tax, low regulation policies that have fired up the American economic engine and bring them to Kansas My running mate Wink Hartman, has created tens of thousands of jobs, during his time as an entrepreneur. Wink Harman and I have a plan to keep Kansas moving forward. By keeping taxes and regulatory burdens low, we can unleash the power of entrepreneurs and job creators to bring high-paying jobs to hard-working Kansans. Under our leadership, we will bring manufacturing jobs back to Kansas. By supporting vocational education programs and ensuring Kansas has a skilled labor force to take advantage of economic growth. Education I support public education and believe we must focus on connecting students to fulfilling careers. Currently, only 53 cents of every tax dollar that is sent to our schools goes to classrooms.1 The rest gets swallowed up by administrators, and other programs that don’t directly benefit Kansas students. As Governor, we will direct more of the money into classrooms for things like teacher pay, books, and computers. My plan would ensure 75 percent of education funding is spent in the classroom. By properly investing in our children’s future, we can build a brighter, better future for Kansas students. That starts with preparing our children for jobs in the 21st century. By developing new partnerships with trade schools and other job training programs, we can ensure our children have the skills they need for the jobs of the future. End the Culture of Corruption, Enact Term Limits Topeka has a culture of corruption. Part of the problem is that some in Topeka have just been there too long. How long? One leader of the opposition party has been there since Gerald Ford was President. Others have merely exchanged their legislative badges for lobbyist badges and are busy cashing in on the offices Kansans entrusted them with. This is wrong. We need term limits for all legislative and statewide elected officials. Spending and Taxes While state spending was increasing, my office reduced its budget from $7 million to $4.7 million. We didn’t do that by cutting services, in fact we took on additional responsibilities. We did this by modernizing our office procedures, utilizing electronic communications, and modeling our office after the private sector. In addition to cutting wasteful spending, I will fight stealth tax hikes from property appraisal increases so entrepreneurs can invest in their communities again. I’m proposing capping property tax appraisals so that no one person’s property can increase in value more than 2 percent in a year and limit appraisals to every 2-3 years, giving homeowners stability in the amount of taxes they can expect to pay on their property. Limiting the amount of money that property owners have to pay to the government opens up money that can be invested in new business and construction projects across Kansas. Illegal Immigration Strong borders are essential to our nation and to our State. They are essential to fighting terrorism, essential to fighting crime, and essential to protecting American workers. And the only way to combat a problem as severe as a lawless immigration system is to have action at both the federal and the state level. Unfortunately, Kansas has become the sanctuary state of the Midwest. We are the only state in the 5-state area that has done nothing to discourage illegal immigration. This hurts Kansas taxpayers. This puts Kansans’ jobs at risk. And it puts Kansans’ lives at risk. We can solve this problem in Kansas. But it takes leadership and political will. I’ll get the job done. Life As a husband and father of five daughters, I know there is nothing more precious than the life of a child. Thanks to the tireless work of pro-life advocates, Kansas has taken significant steps in recent years to safeguard and protect the lives of the unborn. As Governor, I will do everything in my power to protect, preserve and enhance the culture of life in Kansas. It is of utmost importance to me personally to safeguard innocent human life from conception until natural death. The 2nd Amendment I'm a gun owner, a sportsman and an avid hunter. I’m also a husband and father. Self-defense is one of our most basic human rights. Yet anti-gun forces have been working overtime to restrict your right to keep and bear arms. Allowing citizens to protect themselves and their families is a Constitutional right that is bestowed on every American. As Governor, I will fight to safeguard and defend your right to keep and bear arms.	”
—Kansans for Kobach

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kris Kobach campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Attorney General of Kansas	Won general	$950,241	$0
2020	U.S. Senate Kansas	Lost primary	$1,149,415	$1,138,693
2010	Kansas Secretary of State	Won	$299,983	N/A**
2000	Kansas State Senate District 8	Lost	$33,242	N/A**
Grand total			$2,432,881	$1,138,693
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Noteworthy events

Contempt of court ruling

On April 18, 2018, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, found Kobach in contempt of court in a case involving state voting laws. Robinson ruled that Kobach failed to follow a 2016 court order which mandated that he update his office website about voter eligibility and that he treat registered voters and voters involved in the ongoing case equally.

The 2016 order instructed Kobach to register voters who had not shown proof of citizenship when they registered to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles. A Kansas law implemented in 2013 required proof of citizenship for voter registration, but Robinson ordered Kobach not to enforce the requirement. She also said Kobach was responsible for informing voters that they were registered by sending them a standard postcard upon registration.

In January 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion asking Robinson to hold Kobach in contempt of court for failure to send the postcards and update the state's election manual.

In her order released on April 18, Robinson wrote,

“

[Kobach] admitted several times during the hearing that he understood the Court’s order meant he was to treat those covered by the preliminary injunction the same as all other registered voters, which included sending the standard postcard upon registration. ... Defendant has a history of noncompliance with the preliminary injunction order. ... Defendant failed to ensure that registered voters received the standard notification of disposition postcards, despite his assurance to this Court at the October 5 status conference that they would be sent.

”

Robinson ordered Kobach to pay attorneys fees for the plaintiffs involved.

Moriah Day, a spokeswoman for Kobach, said the secretary of state's office would appeal the ruling, which can be read here.

June 2017 request for voter rolls

See also: State government responses to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity

On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which had been created by President Donald Trump on May 11, requested information on registered voters from all 50 states dating back to 2006. The states were given until July 14 to respond. On June 30, Secretary Kobach announced that the state would provide only publicly available information to the commission.

“	In Kansas, the Social Security number is not publicly available. … Every state receives the same letter, but we’re not asking for it if it’s not publicly available...If the commission decides that they would like to receive Social Security numbers to a secure site in order to remove false positives, then we would have to double check and make sure Kansas law permits.	”
—Secretary Kris Kobach

Dual registration ruling, 2016

A trial court ruled against Kobach in a lawsuit regarding the dual registration system for voters. The Shawnee County District Court ruled on January 15, 2016, that Kobach had no legal right to prevent voters who use a federal registration form from voting in local and state elections.

In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the system, which allowed certain voters to vote only in federal races, on behalf of two Kansas voters. The system came about because federal forms did not require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship; state forms did, starting in January 2013. Kobach started the dual voting lists in 2014, preventing voters who filled out only federal forms from casting ballots in state and local races.

The system allowed federally registered voters to fill out provisional ballots, but any votes for local or state items were void.

In the decision, Judge Franklin Theis wrote that state law did not require Kansans to use a particular registration method. Theis also wrote that the provisional ballots Kobach mandated violated ballot secrecy, particularly in small precincts.

District Judge Larry Hendricks in Shawnee County upheld the ruling against Kobach on November 4, 2016.

SAFE Act, 2011

In January 2011, Kobach announced his proposed Kansas Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act at a press conference in Topeka. He stated that the House bill was designed to prevent voter fraud and to increase the integrity of Kansas elections. Gov. Sam Brownback signed the bill into law in April 2011.

The SAFE Act introduced a government-issued photo ID requirement for voting in person at the polls and for mail ballots. The act also introduced the requirement that new voters provide proof of citizenship.

Arizona SB1070, 2012

Kobach assisted Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce (R) in writing Senate Bill 1070 "The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act," more commonly known as Arizona SB 1070, which was signed into law by Republican Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer (R) in 2010. The act, which took effect on July 28, 2010, made it a state misdemeanor crime for a non-citizen to be in Arizona without carrying proper citizenship papers required by federal law and authorized state and local law enforcement of federal immigration laws. The act also required authorities to attempt to determine a person's immigration status during lawful stops, detention, or arrests if there was suspicion that the person was not lawfully present in the country.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Kris Kobach

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Donald Trump  source  (Conservative Party, R)	President of the United States (2024)	Primary	Won General
Donald Trump  source  (R)	President of the United States (2016)	Primary	Won General
Mitt Romney  source  (R)	President of the United States (2012)	Primary	Lost General

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

Kris Kobach
Republican National Convention, 2016
Status:	At-large delegate
State:	Kansas
Bound to:	Donald Trump
Delegates to the RNC 2016
Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state

Kobach was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Kansas. Kobach was one of nine delegates from Kansas bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention. As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Kansas, 2016 and Republican delegates from Kansas, 2016

Kansas district-level delegates were elected at district conventions, while the Kansas Republican State Committee elected at-large delegates at a state convention. All delegates from Kansas to the 2016 Republican National Convention were bound to vote at the convention for the candidate to whom they were allocated and bound unless released by their candidate.

Kansas caucus results

See also: Presidential election in Kansas, 2016

Kansas Republican Caucus, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Ted Cruz	48.2%	35,207	24
Donald Trump	23.3%	17,062	9
Marco Rubio	16.7%	12,189	6
John Kasich	10.7%	7,795	1
Other	1.2%	863	0
Totals		73,116	40
Source: The New York Times and CNN

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Kansas had 40 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the district caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the district's delegates.

Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he was secretary of state, Kobach and his wife, Heather, had five daughters.

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Derek Schmidt (R)	Attorney General of Kansas 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Kansas Secretary of State 2011-2019	Succeeded by -