The state’s abortion opponents are taking diverging paths on who to back in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
Kansans for Life is backing Republican Congressman Roger Marshall in the U.S. Senate race over GOP rivals Kris Kobach, Susan Wagle, David Lindstrom and Bob Hamilton.
Operation Rescue, meanwhile, is supporting Kobach over the rest of the Republican primary field for U.S. Senate.
The two groups chose Marshall and Kobach over Wagle, who battled unsuccessfully this year to pass a constitutional amendment reversing a state Supreme Court decision that found that the right to an abortion is protected by the state constitution.
The amendment passed in the Senate but failed to pass in the House. Wagle later blocked Medicaid expansion until the House passed the amendment.
The endorsements reflect the latest developments in Marshall’s and Kobach’s effort to secure the Christian conservative wing of the Republican party as the Aug. 4 primary draws closer.
The endorsements potentially cripple Wagle, who has not yet filed for the Senate race with the deadline at noon on Monday.
“It’s making the road much more difficult for Wagle, because these are the types of endorsements she needs to get into that top tier and she didn’t get them,” said Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty.
“In a Republican Party, these are important groups,” he said.
Melissa Leach, manager of the KFL Political Action Committee, said Marshall’s candidacy will have a positive impact on down ballot races that are critical to electing lawmakers who would support the constitutional amendment.
“His candidacy gives pro-lifers the best chance of defeating abortion fanatic Barbara Bollier,” Leach said of the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said Kobach would be “one of the strongest leaders on pro-life issues in the U.S. Senate from day one.”
“Like Operation Rescue, Kris Kobach is not a puppet of the establishment,” Newman said. “Kobach never flinches in the face of harsh criticism in the media and not in the face of political pressure from the establishment.”
Hamilton criticized the KFL endorsement.
“I was excited to interview with KFL and talk about my faith and all the things we need to do to protect the unborn,” he said in a statement.
“I was surprised when they didn’t ask a single question about being pro-life or advancing pro-life policy. Instead the questions all related to politics and polling. Political insiders will always select the establishment politician, so this comes as no surprise.”
Last week, Marshall secured the support of the Family Research Council’s political action committee.
And this week, Kobach won the endorsement of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.
He also has the support of Texas evangelist David Barton, founder of Wallbuilders, “an organization dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which the country was built.”
Two years ago in the governor’s race, Kansans for Life split its endorsement between then-Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer and Kobach.
The endorsements are another sign that Marshall and Kobach are a step ahead of the rest of the Republican field as they are mopping up most of the endorsements that have been handed out during the campaign.
Polls have shown that Marshall and Kobach lead the field and the two candidates continues to drum up most, if not all, of the support from outside groups.
The Marshall campaign recently released a poll of 600 Republican primary voters that showed Marshall leading Kobach 33% to 26% with Senate President Susan Wagle at 7%, plumber Bob Hamilton at 6% and former Johnson County Commissioner David Lindstrom at 4%.
The undecideds were at 22%, signaling that the race could still be fluid with the primary election now three months away.
