Kobach, Marshall battle over agriculture in contentious Republican Senate debate

Kris Kobach repeatedly questioned Roger Marshall’s support for agriculture during a Republican Senate debate Saturday, attacking a crucial pillar of the western Kansas congressman’s candidacy as the two men fight for front-runner status.

Marshall warned in return that Kobach would hand the race to Barbara Bollier, the presumptive Democratic nominee, invoking the specter of his 2018 loss in the governor’s race.

The conflict reflected the underlying dynamics of the race. As Kobach and Marshall sparred, a trio of second-tier candidates tried to break through by attacking them both, including Bob Hamilton, who made his debate debut after spending more than a quarter-million dollars to blanket the airwaves with ads since entering the race in late March.

The debate, the first during the coronavirus pandemic, was held in a ballroom at a Manhattan hotel. To comply with the statewide ban on mass gatherings, only reporters and campaign aides were allowed in. The Kansas Republican Party streamed it online, but early technical problems forced candidates to re-deliver their opening statements.

The event focused on agriculture, a core strength for Marshall and a topic that looms over the race to replace retiring Sen. Pat Roberts. As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Roberts wields enormous influence over agricultural policy. Marshall sits on the House Agriculture Committee and is endorsed by the influential Kansas Farm Bureau.

Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state who operates a small farm, said that in 2018, Marshall attempted to trade his seat on the Agriculture Committee for one on the powerful and prestigious Ways and Means Committee.

“If he’s so committed to farmers, he wouldn’t have done that,” Kobach said.

Marshall called the accusation “fake news” and said he had a plan to retain his Agriculture post while also gaining a seat on Ways and Means. He said he would have never left Kansas without a voice on the committee.

Marshall’s bold request to sit on both committees led the Farm Bureau to temporarily withhold an endorsement during the primary phase of his 2018 congressional campaign. The organization’s political arm eventually issued an endorsement just before the election.

Marshall chided Kobach over his attacks and warned they would undercut Republican competitiveness in the fall.

“We’re helping Barbara Bollier win this election by you attacking me,” Marshall said. “And just as you handed the governor’s race to Laura Kelly, you’re about to hand the Senate race to Barbara Bollier.”

Marshall’s campaign earlier this month circulated internal polling showing the congressman with a 7 percentage point lead over Kobach that was nevertheless within the survey’s margin on error. The poll showed Marshall and Kobach as the top two candidates, at 33% and 26% respectively. Every other candidate sat in single digits.

“You’ve clearly seen Marshall gain momentum with his recent statewide campaign activities, so the challenge for him is to show that he’s the winner, the guy Republicans can count on to hold the seat in the fall and prevent Chuck Schumer from being majority leader,” said David Kensinger, a lobbyist and a former chief of staff to Gov. Sam Brownback.

Since Kobach launched his campaign nearly a year ago, critics have contended that Kobach would prove an especially weak general election candidate after voters rejected him in 2018. They say Kobach would place the seat at risk of falling into Democratic hands for the first time since the 1930s.

GOP fears competitive race could drain resources

National Republicans fear a competitive general election in Kansas would force party officials to steer precious money and resources to a state that has been a Senate stronghold for decades at a time when the GOP’s Senate majority after 2020 is in doubt.

“If Kobach is the nominee, they’re going to have to spend money and it’s going to be a lot… That money should be spent in other states,” said Kelly Arnold, chairperson of the Kansas Republican Party during the 2018 governor’s race.

“I would like a cake walk Senate race and we could have that depending on who our candidates are … Congressman Roger Marshall would have an easier time winning a general election than Kris Kobach. And I take that from Kris Kobach’s performance two years ago in a governor’s race.”

Kobach has dismissed the criticism, saying the dynamics of the Senate race are much different than the governor’s race. He told reporters after the debate that Republican governors across the country lost in 2018, pointing to Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Matt Bevin in Kentucky.

“In contested races, Republicans came up short,” Kobach said. “We actually earned 21,000 more votes than Sam Brownback had in 2014, but still there was undeniably a blue wave.”

He pointed to a McLaughlin and Associates poll from January that found Kobach had a 9-point lead over Bollier as evidence of his ability to win.

“There is no doubt that I’ll be able to win in the general election, but basically that’s the only argument they’ve got so they keep saying it over and over again,” Kobach said.

Hamilton, who is largely self-funding, attacked both Kobach and Marshall without naming them. He said Republicans have one conservative candidate who can’t win the general election and another who isn’t conservative but believes he can win.

In contrast to his polished commercials, Hamilton’s performance during the debate was at times rocky as he stumbled in the middle of sentences in response to questions. “I speak plainly, but I speak of conservative, common sense values of Kansans,” he said, acknowledging his lack of oratorical skills.

Dave Lindstrom, a businessman and former Kansas City Chiefs player, echoed Hamilton, saying he has had enough of politicians who are controversial, divisive and have a “record of mismanagement and losing to Democrats in big elections.” He also said he has had enough of “short-sighted, self-serving politicians” who lobbied to get off the Agriculture Committee.

Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, the only woman in the Republican race, sought to elevate her history of clashing with Bollier in the state Senate. Her appearance came a day after the Legislature wrapped up a marathon 24-hour session where legislators voted to restrict the emergency powers of Gov. Laura Kelly, a close ally of Bollier.

“I’m the one lady who’s already debated Barbara Bollier … I’ve beat her numerous times,” Wagle said.

The debate came after an attempt by Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mike Kuckelman to get Wagle and Dave Lindstrom to drop out. Kuckelman, who sent a letter to both candidates asking them to consider withdrawing, has also told Hamilton to exit the race, according to the party’s executive director.

Kuckelman maintains the field needs to be narrowed for the good of the party, arguing a large field will endanger GOP competitiveness in November.

But he appears likely to fail in that effort. Hamilton has already filed and Wagle said she would file before the June 1 deadline.

“I’ve had enough of party politics and the Kansas swamp,” Lindstrom said.

This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 2:36 PM.