Mediaboss Marketing

LENEXA Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach announced that he will run for governor in 2018 and told supporters gathered the state has suffered from a lack of leadership and its his time to step up.

Kobach repeatedly struck out at poor leadership in the statehouse against the backdrop of his campaign signage saying Time to Lead. He outlined three issues to tackle in his campaign: a culture of corruption in Kansas politics, taxation and illegal immigration.

Kobach blasted legislators and their billion-dollar tax increase that passed Tuesday, saying a governor needs to be willing to tell legislators what bills he wants to see and hold them in session until those bills are on his desk.

Kansas doesnt have a revenue problem, Kobach said. Kansas has a spending problem.

Kobach, who was elected Secretary of State in 2010 and secured a second term in 2014, highlighted successful cuts in his office, where he said he reduced employment by 18 percent over six years and decreased his budget.

He also pulled no punches in talking about the culture of corruption he said is rife in Topeka, calling for term limits and action to drain the swamp. He focused on legislators who stay too long in their positions or jump straight into lucrative lobbying jobs when they leave.

Kobach announces run for governor.

Sen. Anthony Hensley you may not know this he was first elected to the Legislature when Gerald Ford was president and I was 8 years old, he said, referring to the Senate minority leader, a Topeka Democrat.

Kobach clarified during a news conference, when asked about his own years as a public servant, that he was referring to those who serve for decades in political positions.

Ive been in Topeka for six and a half years, Kobach said. Usually, if you run for governor, you have to be proven in some office to move onto a higher office. But to sit in one office for decade after decade after decade, as some legislators do, I think thats got to stop.

He suggested time limits be used to put the brakes on legislators moving straight to lobbyist positions.

In a statement, Hensley said Kobach is neck deep in the swamp.

Its pretty ironic that Kris Kobach would question my public service record when he has been nothing more than a part time Secretary of State who is the master of voter suppression, Hensley said. When hes not using the state airplane to travel to political functions, hes working with white supremacist hate groups to intimidate minorities and immigrants. That is why I have called him the most racist politician in America.

Kris Kobach has proven that he is incapable of draining the swamp because he is neck deep in the swamp, Hensley added.

Kobach also challenged the state to stop providing free services, including in-state college tuition and welfare, to illegal immigrants an issue for which he has received national attention.

We have to realize that there are thing we need to do in Kansas to put Americans first, to put Kansans first, he said. Weve had no efforts to stop illegal immigration. In fact, Kansas is the sanctuary state of the Midwest. We are the only state in a five-state area that has done nothing to discourage illegal immigration.

Democrats voiced concern that Kobach would continue policies of the Brownback administration.

Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, called that agenda radical and said last years legislative election proved Kansans are looking for new leadership.

In 2016, the voters made it clear they wanted to return sanity and common sense to the state, she said. They wont vote to go back in 2018.

John Gibson, chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party, echoed that sentiment in a statement and called for debate on the states future.

By nominating Kris Kobach for governor, the Republican Party would continue to endorse the failures of Sam Brownback, he said.

Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, called him the most toxic politician in the state.

Kobachs run gives Democrats opportunity in the next election if hes the Republican nominee, Ward added.

Neil Melton, chairman of the Johnson County Young Republicans, and Daniel Fry, midwest vice chair of the Young Republican National Federation, both were impressed with Kobachs announcement.

I think there were some great points that arent part of the current narrative, said Melton. I thought it was refreshing to hear some new ideas.

Melton referred, in part, to Kobachs comment that a governor should keep the legislators in session until they put the bills he wants to see on his desk.

Frye agreed, and pointed also to the spending issues the state has.

Theres so much misinformation about the spending and about the revenue, that its good to have someone like Kris that can actually give you these facts in a well-presented way, Fry said. He doesnt talk to people like hes 30,000 feet above them. Hes very relatable.

Kobach joins Wichita businessman Wink Hartman and former state Sen. Jim Barnett, of Emporia, as candidates seeking the Republican nomination.

Barnett, who filed campaign finance documents earlier this week, was the GOP nominee for the governors race in 2006, when he lost to Kathleen Sebelius. He unsuccessfully ran for the GOP nomination in Kansas 1st Congressional District in 2010.

Democrats Joshua Svaty, a former agriculture secretary, and Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer also have filed for the race, as has Libertarian Chris Rockhold.

Kobachs announcement cleared the way for others to look at his position. Sedgwick County clerk and Kansas Republican Party chairman Kelly Arnold announced Thursday afternoon that he is exploring a run for Kansas Secretary of State.

Capital-Journal staff writer Luke Ranker contributed to this report.

Follow this link:
Corruption, taxation, illegal immigration focus of Kris Kobach's run for governor - Topeka Capital Journal