Conservative crusader Kris Kobach loses his Kansas attorney general seat to Democrat Chris Mann | KCUR

Democrat Chris Mann officially defeated incumbent Republican Kris Kobach in the race for Kansas attorney general, according to a call for the race Friday by The Associated Press.

In a rematch of the 2022 election, Mann won by just over a percentage point — almost the same margin he lost to Kobach last time.

The race came down to a tight audit. Mann declared victory early Wednesday morning, but Kobach didn’t cash in.

Kobach is known nationally for his tough stances on immigration and voter fraud.

Mann will be the first Democrat in the Kansas attorney general’s office since 2011. “blue wave” of the mid-term elections also won Kansas’ first Democratic U.S. senator in nearly a century, a Democratic governor and a end of the republican qualified majority in the Statehouse.

Although Kobach has alleged voter fraud in the past, he has not alleged foul play in this election. President Donald Trump had raised concerns about “rapid” voter fraud before Election Day, without any evidence, but he also accepted the results.

Kobach’s long and dramatic career – at Kansas and beyond

Before being elected, Kobach pursued a career as a lawyer, traveling the country calling for stricter immigration laws and helping to design the post-9/11 national security system that imposed close monitoring of male visitors from Muslim-majority countries.

Kobach won his bid for Kansas secretary of state in 2010 by a landslide after raising concerns about non-citizen voting. He was the architect of a law requiring Kansans to prove their citizenship to register to vote, but his efforts to prove widespread voter fraud in pieces in court after critics said it prevented thousands of eligible Kansans from registering. Kobach also faced legal sanctions in case of misconduct during this affair.

He joined President Trump’s short-lived Election Fraud Commission and gained the president’s support for a 2018 gubernatorial bid — which he lost to Democrat Laura Kelly. He unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, losing in the general election. GOP primary to eventual winner Roger Marshall – who also lost his seat on Tuesday.

As attorney general, Kobach predicted there would be “probably thousands” of non-citizens voting in Kansas. So far, his office has found four cases, but he said these are just the “tip of the iceberg.”

The race for attorney general

During this year’s campaign, Mann accused Kobach of using the attorney general’s office for political theater.

Kobach has spent his tenure challenging Biden-era laws, such as when he continued the U.S. Department of Education regarding a change to Title IX that replaced “sex” with “gender.” He was also a driving force behind the lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools for allegedly violating parents’ rights by allowing students to socially transition at school without their parents’ knowledge.

Kobach help create a fentanyl task force with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He advocates for increased criminal penalties against fentanyl traffickers, and work making naloxone – a medication designed to reverse opioid overdoses – more easily accessible.

Mann vowed to step up efforts to combat fentanyl, while saying he will do not litigate on the basis of a political agenda.

“The office is going to focus entirely on public service,” Mann says. said on KCUR up to date. “That’s what the people of Kansas want. That’s what they deserve. They deserve someone who’s just going to come in and do the job, make sure the hard work (is done) of going around the state and listening to the communities and finding out what the issues are and how the attorney general can connect and help.”

Much of Kobach’s campaign took credit for the state’s lowest crime rate in more than 50 years. It was endorsed by 50 Kansas sheriffs, but Mann got the endorsement of the Kansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 4,000 sworn law enforcement officers. It was the first time the group had supported the Democratic candidate since 2002.

Mann was a police officer until he was involved in an accident with a drunk driver. Mann spent most of his career advocating against drunk driving and representing victims in court.