(Updated to correct that Tawater attended a rally before the riot at the Capitol).
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is taking steps toward a run for Kansas attorney general.
Coming off consecutive losing races for governor and U.S. Senate, Kobach on Wednesday filed paperwork with the secretary of state appointing a treasurer for his attorney general’s race. Kobach made the filing shortly before 10 p.m.
He named Laura Tawater as his treasurer. Tawater, 1st District chair of the state Republican Party, came under criticism from Democrats earlier this year for attending a rally held by the president preceding the Capitol riots on Jan. 6.
Kobach is anticipated to announce his candidacy for the state’s top law enforcement officer at 1 p.m. at a news conference Thursday at the Sedgwick County Courthouse.
This would be Kobach’s eighth race for public office, starting with the Overland Park City Council about 20 years ago and most recently for U.S. Senate in 2020.
He’s won three out of the seven races he’s run for public office.
Kobach also lost races for the state Senate 2000 and the 3rd District congressional seat in 2004. He was elected secretary of state twice.
He finished third in four-way Republican primary for the state Senate in 2000, which was won by former state Sen. Barbara Allen.
Kobach won the Republican primary for Congress in 2004 but lost to former Congressman Dennis Moore in the general election.
“He’s now getting in Harold Stassen territory,” said Wasburn University political scientist Bob Beatty, referring to the former governor of Minnesota who sought Republican Party’s presidential nomination nine times.
“He can win and it’s not impossible but he’s become Kansas’ perennial candidate,” Beatty said.
“The positive is he’s got a lot of experience. The negative is some voters don’t like that,” Beatty said.
Kobach is expected to build a campaign on the importance of state attorneys general being the last line of defense against overreach of President Joe Biden’s administration.
He’s also expected to make a case for vigorously defending state laws against legal assaults from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU and its associated lawyers successfully challenged Kobach’s proof of citizenship law for registering to vote in Kansas.
The law was ruled unconstitutional and the ACLU and other lawyers in the case are seeking $4 million from the state to cover their legal costs.
Kobach said previously he had been considering a race for attorney general to replace incumbent Republican Derek Schmidt, who will run for governor next year.
“I have been asked by a number of people to consider running for the attorney general spot, in particular in light of the Biden administration exceeding its authority in various ways,” Kobach said in an earlier interview.
“In the past during the Obama administration, state attorneys general were an effective force to reinforce the rule of law when the administration overstepped its bounds.”
Kobach would be the first candidate to kick off a race for attorney general that could include Republican state Sen. Kellie Warren and state Rep. Blaine Finch, the third highest ranking Republican in the Kansas House.
Other names mentioned include Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson and Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay.
Kobach would likely have the highest profile in the race, which could play to his benefit if there is a large field for attorney general.
Kobach, however, would start the campaign saddled with losing races for governor and the U.S. Senate and a reputation for an inability to raise large sums of money.
He was also held in contempt of court and ordered to take continuing legal education courses stemming from his unsuccessful defense of the proof-of-citizenship for registering to vote.
The potential Democratic field is less defined with no candidates emerging so far, although some believe a Kobach candidacy could change that very quickly.
The only candidate who’s been mentioned has been Kristie Welder, the wife of former congressional candidate Brent Welder.
Kristie Welder, now in private pratice, earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was executive editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
An online petititon drive was recently launched to encourage Welder to run for attorney general.
“We need a candidate that has a track record of fighting for the rights of workers and everyday Kansans. I believe this person to be Kristie Welder,” Brennan Schartz posted on the site.
