Republican congressional candidates Jeff Kahrs and Shawn Tiffany took swipes at former Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who leads the 2nd District field in fundraising as well as in the only public poll released in the campaign so far.
Kahrs, a top adviser to outgoing Congressman Jake LaTurner, and Tiffany, the former president of the Kansas Livestock Association, targeted Schmidt in an hourlong debate broadcast Tuesday night by Topeka television station WIBW.
They were joined on stage by minor GOP primary candidates Michael Ogle of Topeka and Chad Young of Lawrence, who are not as well established as the other three candidates running for the open congressional seat.
The primary is Aug. 6.
Kahrs held the sharpest criticism of Schmidt until the very end of the debate when he told the television audience that while there are five GOP candidates in the field, the race really only comes down to him and the former attorney general.
“This is an easy choice for the conservatives,” Kahrs said.
“You can go with the go-along, get-along career politician who voted with Democrats when he was in the state Senate, who never took any leadership when he was the attorney general; he always followed other conservative attorney generals around the nation,” Kahrs said of Schmidt.
Kahrs touted his work in former President Donald Trump’s administration as the director of Region 7 for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I am the only candidate on this stage that’s worked for President Trump to help him implement his agenda,” Kahrs said.
“And he’s going to need a strong and a consistent, courageous conservative like myself to help him implement the agenda that he has in Washington, D.C.,” Kahrs said.
Schmidt opted not to directly tangle with his Republican rivals.
Instead, Schmidt touted his work standing up against water regulations imposed by former President Barack Obama, opposed President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and opposed sanctuary cities in Kansas.
“It’s going to take more than talk to get America running again,” Schmidt said.
“I have a proven record of standing tall for our conservative values and delivering,” Schmidt said.
“I’m running for Congress because we need someone who can stand up, fight, advance our agenda and make sure that as we get this country on track, Kansas is strongly represented,” he said.
Tiffany joined the criticism of Schmidt when asked a question about how the United States should address illegal immigration.
Tiffany noted that Schmidt as a state senator voted for legislation that authorized in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants when “hardworking Kansas families” can’t afford to send their own children to college.
But Tiffany, the political newcomer, wasn’t immune from an attack.
On the same immigration question, Kahrs criticized Schmidt for voting against E-Verify, a measure requiring state agencies and contractors to verify the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.
But Kahrs also criticized Tiffany for coming from an industry that “is very lax when it comes to illegal immigration.”
Schmidt said there is no doubt about his credentials fighting illegal immigration.
As attorney general, Schmidt pointed out that he persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to side with his appeal of a state Supreme Court decision that overturned identity theft convictions of three men who could not legally work in the country.
Schmidt said he took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure Kansas could “enforce our laws against illegal immigrants in this country.”
“I have prosecuted people who have come across our border illegally and they have committed terrible, heinous acts against Kansans right here in our community – murders and rapes,” he said.
Tiffany called Schmidt a “career politician” and Kahrs a “career bureaucrat.”
“Unlike my peers up here on the stage, I have never taken a government paycheck a day in my life,” he said.
“It’s time we sent businessmen and agriculture-minded people and folks that have worked and lived in Kansas to Washington, D.C., to represent us at the national level,” Tiffany said.
Kahrs characterized himself more as a “servant” rather than a “bureaucrat.”
“I’ve been a servant to Gov. (Sam) Brownback, I’ve been a servant to Congressman (Todd) Tiahrt and before I worked for Mr. LaTurner, President Trump invited me to join his administration and I oversaw a major cabinet agency in the Midwest,” he said.
“You better believe that experience matters,” he said.
Schmidt, who held public office in the state Senate and as attorney general for a little more than 20 years, said political experience can’t be discounted.
“You wouldn’t hire a professional for any job who didn’t know how to do the job,” he said. “I think it’s really critical at this time in American history that we have people who can hit the ground running and be strong supporters of President Trump.
“The critical qualification is understanding Kansas and understanding you and the struggles that you have and your family and your life and your businesses,” he said.
“I bring the ability to go get things done that you need done in Washington.”
