Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state handpicked by Trump to implement his aggressive vote suppression tactics nationwide, was defeated by a Democrat in his effort to become Kansas governor last night after ousting the state’s incumbent Republican governor in the August primary.
Kobach was never able to prove his assertions that Kansas had a voting fraud problem, but nevertheless persuaded the legislature to pass restrictive voting laws. He also is an immigrant hardliner who has advocated for a Muslim registry, and is considered a racist by many of his critics. And he was a vocal participant in Obama “birther” conspiracy theories.
Kansas was ground zero for a key GOP economic policy idea, spearheaded by former Gov. Sam Brownback and subsequently transplanted to Wisconsin and other states, that sought to boost the state’s economy by slashing taxes. The experiment failed miserably, starving government of revenue and leaving schools and public services in tatters. The legislature eventually took matters into its own hands by voting to raise taxes, and then overriding Brownback’s veto of the tax increases.
In this election, every living former GOP Kansas governor except Brownback endorsed Kobach’s Democratic opponent. As one of the country’s most personally despised Republican political figures, his defeat last night was celebrated by Democrats not just in Kansas but throughout the nation.
Photo: Kobach with his political hero