Kobach campaigns inside the virtual polling booth

There are long established laws and regulations that prevent campaigning within 50 feet of voting places.   But when it comes to internet, there are not such clear cut rules. We are often left with only ethical restraints.

It is not surprising that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has taken advantage of the lack of regulations to make sure he is prominently promoted in the state's web sites promoting voting and reporting voting results.

Here is Kobach at the very front of the voteks.org website

 

And, here Kobach on the site which reported Kansas primary elections results Tuesday night.

 

And, of course, on the Secretary of State's webpage.

There may well be more serious problems with Kobach's political activities.

Tmservo433 wrote on Daily Kos

Topeka Capital Journal reports it entered a whole new phase as Kris Kobach (Secretary of State, lead ALEC drafter) found his private PAC (The Prairie Fire PAC) in the troubling position of having been caught red handed financing attack ads against sitting Republicans who just aren't right-leaning enough.

http://cjonline.com/news/2014-08-04/kobach-pac-sends-mailers-not-reflected-spending-report

Secretary of State Kris Kobach's political action committee sent out mailers seeking to influence at least two House Republican primaries this week, without reporting the spending on campaign finance reports.

 Rep. Russ Jennings, R-Lakin, and Rep. Kent Thompson, R-LaHarpe, both said Monday that Kobach's Prairie Fire PAC was active in their races with a mailer blasting Jennings and another endorsing Thompson's opponent in Tuesday's primary.

Poll Shows Brownback, Roberts,and Kobach Vulnerable

A new poll from the respected Public Policy Polling shows that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Senator Pat Roberts, and Secretary of State Kris Kobach are all seriously lacking in popular appeal.

BROWNBACK

Here is what PPP says about Brownback

PPP's newest Kansas poll finds that Sam Brownback has continued to become even more unpopular in the last year, and that he slightly trails his Democratic opponent for reelection. Only 33% of voters in the state approve of the job Brownback is doing, compared to 51% who disapprove. That's down from a 37/52 spread when PPP last polled the state a year ago.

Brownback trails Democratic challenger Paul Davis for reelection by a 42/40 margin. Davis isn't particularly well known- only 41% of voters have an opinion about him one way or the other- so those numbers are more a referendum on Brownback than anything else. Davis leads largely because he is winning 23% of the GOP vote, a large amount of crossover support in this polarized political climate, while only 11% of Democrats plan to vote for Brownback.

“Kansas voters really don’t care for Sam Brownback and haven’t for some time now,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.

According to conventional political wisdom, an incumbent at 40% is in definite trouble and there is no reason to think that the PPP poll is an outlier.  Last October, SurveyUSA released a poll showing Brownback trailing Davis, who had just announced his candidacy.

Sam Brownback, who has served in Kansas as a Congressman, U.S. Senator, and now Governor, is in danger of being unseated after one term, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for KWCH-TV in Wichita. ...the Democratic ticket of Paul Davis and Jill Docking edges the Republican ticket of Brownback and Jeff Colyer, 43% to 39%.

Of those who voted for Brownback when he ran for Governor in 2010, just 59% stick with him in 2014, and 25% defect to the Democrats. Though today Brownback leads 2:1 among Republicans, he trails 11:1 among Democrats.

In early February, the GOP leaked an internal poll from

Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, [which] puts Brownback ahead of Democratic state House Minority Leader Paul Davis 42-31. If you're wondering why these mystery Republicans would leak a poll that has Brownback well below 50 and gives him middling 45-41 favorables, 

ROBERTS
PPP writes

Pat Roberts has seen his net approval rating decline 12 points over the last year, in the wake of news media reports that he spends little time in the state. In February of 2013 we found him on slightly positive ground at a 31/28 spread, but now only 29% of voters approve of him compared to 38% who disapprove.

 Roberts could be in trouble in the primary ... He starts out with a 49/23 lead over Milton Wolf, but a lot of that is simply a function of name recognition since only 24% of GOP primary voters are familiar with Wolf. And concerns about his lack of attention to the state ring through with Republican voters just as they do the overall electorate- by a 42/34 spread they think Roberts is more focused on being a Washington DC insider than he is in representing Kansas.

While PPP shows Democrat Chad Taylor trailing Roberts by 16 points, its shows Wolf and Taylor neck-and-neck at 33-32.

One has to wonder if some of the far right politicos in Kansas are kicking themselves for letting themselves be talked into signing up to the Roberts re-election effort.  A year ago, PPP noted

Roberts' low profile could give him more trouble in a primary. Just 42% of Republicans say they would vote to re-nominate him, while 34% say they would prefer someone 'more conservative.' Those are pretty uninspiring numbers if a more fiery candidate wanted to challenge him from the right. Roberts has bigger leads over specific GOP alternatives we tested against him though- 21 points over Todd Tiahrt at 47/26, 31 over Tim Huelskamp at 53/22, and 36 over Kris Kobach at 55/19. 

Remember, those results were before the controversy about Roberts "lazy-boy" residence in Kansas became public.

The conventional wisdom at this point seems to be that Taylor doesn't have much of a chance against Roberts, but that he might have against Wolf.  I'm not so sure.  Seems to me that the themes of Roberts not spending enough time in Kansas and being more interested in being a DC insider  might just play in November.

KOBACH

The PPP poll is also encouraging for Jean Schodorf's chances of defeating the Secretary of Hate.


Do you approve or disapprove of Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s job performance?

31%  Approve  34% Disapprove  35% Not Sure

If the candidates for Secretary of State were Republican Kris Kobach and Democrat Jean Schodorf, who would you vote for?

  41% Kris Kobach   34% Jean Schodorf  25% Not Sure

Kobach Protest Slideshow

On June 15, 2013, Kansans gathered to deliver a message to Secretary of State Kirs Kobach to ask that to stop the hate. Kobach "moonlights" as an attorney for the racist FAIR. This slide show has pictures of the peaceful citizens. Kobach's office is in his house,

Dems gain in State-wide races

The latest Survey USA poll shows gains by Tom Holland for Gov, Atty Gen Steve Six,
Treasurer Dennis McKinney, and Secretary of State Chris Biggs. There's still a long ways to go in these races, but usually when Dems win in the state it is due to late movement.

For Governor, US Senator Sam Brownback and running mate Jeff Colyer today defeat Democrats Tom Holland and Kelly Kultala 59% to 32%. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released 1 month ago, the Republicans are down 8 points; the Democrats are up 7. Among women, Brownback had led by 35, now leads by 19. Among voters 50+, Brownback had led by 31, now leads by 20. Among the 1 in 3 likely voters who identify themselves as moderates, Holland and Kultala had trailed by 10, now lead by 9, a 19-point swing to the Democrats.


Incumbent Secretary of State Democrat Chris Biggs has gained some ground in his fight against Republican Kris Kobach. Kobach today defeats Biggs by 17 points, 53% to 36%, down from a 32-point margin a month ago. Biggs has gained strength and Kobach has simultaneously lost ground among women, where the two are now essentially even, and to a lesser extent, among voters 50+. Biggs has also found support among moderates, where he had led by a 5, now by 22.

Another Democratic incumbent, Attorney General Steve Six, is also gaining ground against his opponent, Republican Derek Schmidt. Schmidt today defeats Six 50% to 41%, a 9-point lead for the Republican, down from 20 points last month. There has been an 18-point swing toward the Democrat among women, a 12-point swing among older voters, and Six has dramatically improved his standing in southeastern Kansas, where he had trailed by 25 points, and is now neck-and-neck with Schmidt.

The State Treasurer race has also tightened, with Republican Ron Estes today defeating incumbent Democrat Dennis McKinney by 11 points, down from 21 points last month. McKinney, like his fellow incumbents in the Attorney General and Secretary of State offices, is up gaining strength among women, older voters, and moderates.

Senate Dem Leader Hensley Endorses Chris Biggs, calls for Steineger to drop out

Chris Biggs, Ks. Secretary of  State

An Open Letter to Kansas Democrats
From Senator Anthony Hensley
Kansas Senate Democratic Leader

Dear Fellow Democrats:

Last week a federal investigation exposed extensive financial mismanagement of the Kansas Republican Party under the leadership of Kris Kobach.

During Kobach’s stint as Republican state chairman, the Republican Party accepted illegal donations yet failed to pay thousands of dollars in state and federal taxes.  Not only that, Kobach left the Kansas Republican Party almost bankrupt.

Now Kris Kobach wants to be our next Kansas Secretary of State.  Should he become the Republican nominee, Kansas Democrats need a strong candidate who will bring professional conduct to the office.

I believe the man to beat Kobach is our current Secretary of State, Chris Biggs.  Chris is a lifelong public servant.  He has the experience and integrity needed to go head-to-head with http://draft.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6053155Kobach and win.  It is important that we unite behind the strongest Democratic candidate and in this case the choice is clear:  Chris Biggs is the man for the job.

So, today, I am not only endorsing Chris Biggs for Secretary of State, but I am calling on Biggs’ primary opponent, State Senator Chris Steineger, to withdraw from the race and put his full support behind Secretary Biggs.

Much like Kris Kobach, Steineger has his own ethical and legal problems.  He has violated campaign finance laws which forced him to pay a $5,000 fine to the Kansas Ethics Commission (Topeka Capital-Journal, May 18, 2010).  Democrats will lose the office if Chris Steineger is our candidate. 
Kansans deserve a Secretary of State who understands the law, follows the law, and is committed to enforcing the law.

I strongly urge you to join me in voting for Secretary of State Chris Biggs in the Democratic primary elected on Tuesday, August 3rd.  To learn more about Chris Biggs, go to his Web site at www.biggsforkansas.comhttp:// www.biggsforkansas.com.

Sincerely,

Anthony Hensley
Kansas Senate Democratic Leader

Arizona fires Kobach

The Lawrence Journal World reports

A change in leadership at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Arizona is costing Kris Kobach some work.

Kobach, an attorney and Republican candidate for Kansas secretary of state, was providing legal advice to Maricopa County on immigration issues.


But Kobach said he has been terminated from that job after the former Maricopa County Attorney, Andrew Thomas, left office last month to run for Arizona attorney general.

The new Maricopa Attorney “takes a very different view of enforcing Arizona’s human smuggling” law, Kobach said.

Kobach gives workshop at far right conference

From Right-wing Watch. Kobach refers to Al Franken's election as a "pseudo-election" and sets out a plan to restrict voting rights. (For more reports on the far-right conference, see here)

Right-wing groups have long made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud the supposed rationale for pushing legislation that would erect new barriers to the ballot box. A How to Take Back America workshop on “Voter Fraud, the Census, and ACORN” made it clear that right-wing politicians will try to use ACORN’s recent troubles to build momentum for restrictive voting laws.

Kris Kobach, a lawyer and failed congressional candidate who has made a name for himself on the Right as an anti-illegal immigration crusader, announced this summer that he is running to be Secretary of State in Kansas. His theme is combating voter fraud, a solution in search of a problem in Kansas. Kobach, like other speakers, implied that Al Franken’s Senate seat was somehow illegitimate, referring to Franken’s “pseudo-election.”

The workshop was largely a tirade against ACORN and the “hard left,” which is supposedly engaged in a massive effort to steal elections. No one, said Kobach, is disenfranchised based on the color of their skin these days. He slammed the Obama Justice Department for signaling to states that they’re “on their own” when it comes to fighting voter fraud.

Kobach’s five-step prescription for states, which he hopes he can implement in Kansas as a model, includes ramping up prosecutions for voter fraud, enacting photo-ID laws, taking more aggressive steps to “clean up” voter rolls (otherwise known as purging), requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, and standardizing provisional ballot and recount procedures, which he said “the left” was abusing.

Jenkins: GOP looking for "great White hope"

Kansas's Second District Representative Lynn Jenkins used racist code words at an August party event in Hiawatha.

Jenkins told people at the Hiawatha forum the nation could benefit from inspired leadership of a group of "really sharp" young Republicans in the House, particularly Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. Cantor was mentioned as a possible GOP vice presidential candidate in 2008 and is thought to be interested in seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

"Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope," Jenkins said to the crowd. "I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young Republican minds in Washington."

When African-American Jack Johnson won the heavyweight boxing crown about a century ago, it was considered an affront to whites. A search went out for a "great white hope" to win back the crown. Congress even passed a law to prohibit the interstate transport of boxing films.

When another African American Joe Louis was finally given a change to fight for the title and won it, the search again went out for a "great white hope."

There was a 1967 play and 1970 movie based on Johnson and the reaction to him.

Another Kansas GOP leader, Secretary of State candidate Kris Kobach got in trouble for making a "birther" joke at a party fundraiser. I don't think it's accidental.

UPDATE: Keith O. on LJ