Pompeo rules out Senate run in Kansas amid crisis with Iran, source says
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday that he will not run for an open Senate seat in Kansas this year as heightened tensions with Iran risk spilling into war, a source close to McConnell said.
His decision ends widespread Republican hopes that he would enter the race in his home state, where the party’s failed 2018 nominee for governor, Kris Kobach, currently leads the GOP field.
Pompeo met with McConnell for roughly a half-hour in a secure room on Capitol Hill Monday. In addition to briefing McConnell on the Iranian situation, the source said that Pompeo indicated he would not be running for Senate.
“Leader McConnell believes Secretary Pompeo is doing an incredible job as Secretary of State and is exactly where the country needs him right now,” the source said, signaling that McConnell will end his months-long recruitment campaign.
When the secretary of state emerged from the room, he did not answer questions about the purpose of the meeting. McConnell smiled and made no response when later asked specifically whether Pompeo had informed he would not be running for Senate.
Pompeo addressed the issue Tuesday morning at a news conference at the State Department when asked about the impact of the escalating tension with Iran on his decision not to run.
“I said the same thing yesterday that I said for months. I said I would stay to serve as secretary of state as long as the president will have me,” Pompeo said. “You can accuse me of being inconsistent, but not on that one.”
Pompeo fueled speculation for months that he was leaning toward a run by meeting with major Republican donors, such as Charles Koch, a Wichita resident, and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. President Donald Trump said that he would support a Pompeo campaign for Senate if it meant keeping the Kansas seat in Republican hands.
But the targeted killing of Qassem Soleimani, the top general of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has made Pompeo the face of the Trump administration’s biggest foreign policy crisis. The secretary reportedly advocated for the move, and Tehran is vowing to respond with military force.
“It’s over,” said a Kansas Republican source about the speculation that has dominated Kansas politics since Sen. Pat Roberts announced his retirement plans.
Technically, Pompeo could still change his mind. The filing deadline is in June for candidates to formally enter the race.
Yet Pompeo’s exit from the scene, first reported by the New York Times, opens up a race for Democrats in a state where they haven’t won a Senate seat since 1932.
Democratic leaders in Washington and Kansas have coalesced around state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a former Republican who switched parties after the 2018 election.
The Republican field includes Kobach, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, former Johnson County Commissioner Dave Lindstrom and Rep. Roger Marshall, a western Kansas congressman who holds a massive cash advantage on the other Republican contenders.
“I think this means that this race will be all about Kobach, whereas previously it could have been all about Pompeo,” said Bob Beatty, a political scientist at Washburn University.
“Right now, I see Kobach as being a strong candidate with Pompeo out. And of course, then it’s up to Wagle, Lindstrom and of course Marshall and others to figure out a strategy to win this thing.”
Kobach, whose platform is focused on illegal immigration, remains popular with the party base, but GOP leaders are wary of his candidacy after his 2018 loss.
Danedri Herbert, Kobach’s spokeswoman, said the “best situation for the President is for Secretary Pompeo to continue his work and for the President to have Kris Kobach, a conservative ally from Kansas, leading the charge for him in the Senate.”
Pompeo’s decision to forgo the race is likely a boost to Marshall, who has been airing TV ads in recent weeks that feature his appearance at a trade agreement event with Trump.
Kelly Arnold, a former state Republican chair, said that both Wagle and Marshall stand to gain.
“Ultimately, if this is a final and everybody has a true understanding that this is Secretary Pompeo’s decision that he’s not going to, that really is going to help out the campaigns – specifically Marshall and Wagle who have a lot of volunteers and donors and that kind of stuff still sitting, hovering waiting to find out what Mike is going to do,” Arnold said.
Wagle was the first candidate to react to the reports that Pompeo would not enter the race, applauding his decision to remain in his current role.
“As we have been reminded in recent days, our world is a dangerous place and we need steady leadership now more than ever,” Wagle said.
“I commend Secretary Pompeo for putting our nation first during this time of international turmoil. Our nation is lucky to have leaders like Secretary Pompeo in positions of national leadership and Kansans can be proud to call him a native son.”
In a statement early Monday evening, Bollier spokeswoman Ashley All said the state senator is prepared no matter who the GOP nominee may be.
“Dr. Barbara Bollier will remain focused on the needs of Kansas families, not political maneuvering. At a time when everyone is sick of hyper partisanship and political fighting, Dr. Bollier will be a voice of reason in Washington - something everyone is desperate for more of these days,” All said in a statement.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Pompeo rules out Senate run in Kansas amid crisis with Iran, source says."
