Trump coming to Kansas to rally for Kris Kobach campaign

President Trump is coming to Kansas to rally for Republican Kris Kobach’s campaign for governor, the campaign announced Thursday.

“I’m honored and grateful that President Trump will be coming to Kansas,” Kobach said in a statement. “President Trump’s success in cutting taxes at the national level unleashed economic growth, and I want to accomplish the same thing in Kansas by reducing our crushing tax burden.”

Kobach was a member of Trump’s transition team after he won the presidency in 2016 and has served as an unofficial adviser to the president on immigration issues.

Kobach has supported Trump’s contention that illegal immigrant votes cost him the popular vote in the election and he served several months on a voter-fraud task force empaneled by Trump.

Trump ultimately disbanded the commission amid complaints and lawsuits over the panel’s attempts to obtain personal voter data.

The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Kansas ExpoCentre. Tickets are available through Trump’s website at www.donaldjtrump.com.

Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, is running against Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly and independent candidate Greg Orman, a Johnson County businessman.

Bob Beatty, a professor of political science at Washburn University, said the campaign likely settled on Topeka, rather than the more populous Kansas City area, because Trump’s approval ratings are higher outside the metro area and his message is more likely to reach rural voters.

Also, like Kobach, Steve Watkins of Topeka, the 2nd District Republican congressional candidate, has emphasized his enthusiastic support of the president in his campaign.

“I look forward to meeting President Trump on October 6th and sharing with him my plans to help deliver lower taxes, enhanced border security, and higher paychecks for 2nd District residents,” Watkins said in a statement issued by his campaign.

Beatty said he’s not surprised that Trump is coming because the Kobach campaign has been hinting at it for a long time.

And Trump has said he plans a busy schedule of public appearances leading up to the Nov. 6 midterm election.

Beatty said the latest polls have shown a substantial gender gap in support of Trump and an appearance by the president could also energize voters on the other side, particularly Democratic women.

“It’s not an appearance without cost,” Beatty said.

But he said Kobach is clearly betting that a presidential rally will do more to turn out the conservative Republican base voters who are the core of his support.

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 4:08 PM.