Republican state Sen. Kellie Warren is battling back against former Secretary of State Kris Kobach with a new round of ads and an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in the Republican primary for attorney general.
Warren unleashed a series of three ads Tuesday morning, one criticizing Kobach for losing campaigns as well as a high-profile battle over a proposed citizenship requirement for Kansas voters.
A second ad responds to one from the Kobach campaign, accusing her of lacking the legal credentials to be attorney general.
“Kris Kobach keeps losing elections, and he lost to liberals in court, costing taxpayers almost $2 million,” says one ad referencing a loss to the American Civil Liberties Union over the citizenship requirement.
“And Kobach was ordered to attend remedial education classes by a federal judge; say no to Kris Kobach.”
A third ad is a variation of one that ran earlier in the campaign where Warren says she will fight and win for taxpayers, an oblique reference to Kobach losing campaigns.
The ad criticizing Kobach as a perpetual losing candidate – once for governor in 2018 and then again for U.S. senator in 2020 – is running in Kansas City.
The second ad responding to Kobach’s attacks is now running in the Wichita and Hutchinson markets.
The third ad is also running the Kansas City market alone.
Meanwhile on Tuesday morning, Sen. Marshall endorsed Warren in the primary.
“Republicans must get out and vote for Kellie Warren, a conservative who will fight to stop the woke Biden agenda and win this November,” Marshall said in a statement.
Kobach spokeswoman Danedri Herbert noted that Kobach has already been endorsed by “longtime conservative heavyweights” such as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Sen. John Ashcroft.
“Both are also experienced and qualified attorneys,” Herbert said.
“They trust Kris Kobach as the most qualified and experienced attorney in the race ready to take on the Biden administration in court — and win,” she said.
Marshall, who defeated Kobach in the 2020 primary for U.S. Senate, is the latest Republican to turn against the former secretary of state in the GOP.
A super political action committee funded partly by business executives with ties to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce plans to launch a new ad campaign against Kobach.
The Freedom Conference PAC has booked about $142,000 in the Kansas City market in a network ad buy, which brings to about $323,000 the amount spent by outside groups to get Warren elected attorney general of Kansas.
Overall broadcast spending for the campaign now totals a little more than $1 million, meaning that almost a third is coming from outside groups, according to the national political ad tracking firm AdImpact.
Americans for Prosperity has spent about $181,000 in broadcast and digital buys, and its total expenditure is likely much higher since it doesn’t account for mailers that have carpeted the state backing Warren, according to AdImpact.
Kobach has booked or spent about $305,000 in broadcast buys, while Warren has booked or spent about $290,000.
Former federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi, who has been swamped in single digits pollingwise, has booked or spent about $114,000 in broadcast ads.
Here’s the new round of ads from Warren:
Warren v. Kobach
Warren/negative ads
Warren/winning
