Kris Kobach
Republican attorney general of Kansas since 2023; Kansas secretary of state from 2011 to 2019.
Kris Kobach, Kansas attorney general since 2023, lost the 2018 governor's race to Laura Kelly by about five points. That defeat is the reminder that a Kansas Republican can lose statewide, recalled as Roger Marshall's Senate race tightened in October 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Timeline for Kris Kobach
Mentioned in: WinSenate puts $8.14m into Kansas ads
US Midterms 2026Lost the 2018 Kansas governor race
US Midterms 2026: Mentioned in: Kansas's Marshall outraised 13 to 1Mentioned in: Idaho GOP Defies Own President on Data
US Midterms 2026Background
Kris Kobach's 2018 defeat is the counter-example to the idea that Kansas Republicans are safe statewide. It is recalled in 2026 because Senator Roger Marshall ended September with less than a third of his Democratic challenger's cash.
Kobach was Kansas secretary of state from 2011 to 2019 and became attorney general in January 2023. He rose to national prominence as a hardliner on immigration, and in 2017 was vice-chair of President Trump's commission on election Integrity. That commission ended after Republican secretaries of state refused to hand over voter data, a precedent raised again when Idaho resisted the Justice Department's voter-file demand.
Laura Kelly beat him by about five points that November. His record cuts both ways for Kansas Republicans: a statewide loss for governor, then a statewide win for attorney general four years later.
Who is Kris Kobach?
Who beat Kris Kobach for Kansas governor?
Why is Kris Kobach's 2018 loss cited in 2026?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.