‘Too conservative.’ Are Democrats trying to boost Kobach in Kansas GOP primary?
Democrats may be borrowing a strategic ploy from former Sen. Claire McCaskill’s successful 2012 campaign by trying to boost Kris Kobach’s chances of winning the GOP senatorial nomination in Kansas next month.
A new television ad from Sunflower State, a super PAC that registered with the Federal Election Commission this week, presents itself as an attack on both Republican Rep. Roger Marshall, the party establishment favorite who represents western Kansas, and Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state and 2018 Republican nominee for governor.
But the broadsides against Kobach could be a “dog whistle” that resonates with conservative Kansas GOP primary voters. And the ad’s criticism of Marshall is especially damaging in contrast to Kobach.
“Kris Kobach, he’s too conservative. Kobach won’t compromise on building a wall or getting tough on China,” the ad’s narrator states, repeating two of Kobach’s key campaign promises.
“And Roger Marshall’s a phony. After backing a Mitt Romney-like candidate for president, he’s been soft on Trump and weak on immigration,” a reference to Marshall’s support for then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2016.
“Marshall’s been both for and against the wall. He went easy on China and now talks tough. Roger Marshall — fake, fake, fake,” the ad says.
McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, ran ads ahead of the 2012 GOP primary in Missouri against then-Rep. Todd Akin warning voters that Akin was “too conservative” as part of strategy to elevate Akin in the crowded primary.
Akin won and McCaskill went on to easily defeat him in the general election after he infamously claimed in a television interview that the female body could prevent pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.”
McCaskill discussed the strategy in her 2015 memoir “Plenty Ladylike.”
“Using the guidance of my campaign staff and consultants, we came up with the idea for a ‘dog whistle’ ad, a message that was pitched in such a way that it would be heard only by a certain group of people. I told my team we needed to put Akin’s uber-conservative bona fides in an ad — and then, using reverse psychology, tell voters not to vote for him. And we needed to run the hell out of that ad,” McCaskill wrote.
Marshall’s campaign alleges that the ads launched Wednesday by Sunflower have the same objective.
“Democrats know Marshall won’t be beat in November,” said Eric Pahls, Marshall’s campaign spokesman, in a statement. “(Senate Minority Leader Chuck) Schumer is now openly trying to push Kobach over the finish line. A Kobach nomination would be yet another gift to Democrats. A Marshall nomination would keep the seat solidly Red.”
The super PAC’s initial statewide ad buy is $850,000, a substantial investment as the August 4 primary approaches, according to Medium Buying, a firm that tracks campaign ad buys.
That includes more than $90,000 combined on Kansas City broadcast stations KMBC and KSHB, according to filings with the Federal Communication Commission.
The firm purchasing the airtime on behalf of Sunflower State is Virginia-based Old Towne Media, according to the FCC files.
The same firm has worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, multiple Democratic Senate candidates and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which Marshall’s campaign says is evidence that Democrats are behind the ad..
Sunflower State did not directly respond to the Marshall’s camp’s claims, simply saying the PAC “is focused on educating voters about the U.S. Senate race in Kansas and is operating in accordance with all Federal Election Laws.”
Kobach’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Brendan Fischer, the senior director of federal reform at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said it has become increasingly common for groups to try to influence the opposing party’s primary in recent years.
“If Sunflower State is using Democratic ad buyers, it would certainly support a suspicion that this group is a front for Democrats trying to meddle in the Republican primary. In recent years, there have been examples of both Democratic and Republican groups meddling in the other party’s primary,” he said in an email.
The spot is one of several being run by outside groups, many either promoting Marshall or hammering his opponents.
Plains PAC, a GOP-aligned group, last week launched a $3 million ad campaign pillorying Kobach for alleged ties to white nationalists, a move that appears to be meant to clear Marshall’s path.
Plains PAC is using the same media buyer as the Senate Leadership Fund, which Kobach’s campaign has pointed to as proof that the group’s efforts are tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The group is headed by C.J. Grover, an ex-staffer of former Rep. Kevin Yoder, who has endorsed Marshall.
Grover has repeatedly warned that Kobach would put the seat at risk against likely Democratic nominee Barbara Bollier, who has led all candidates in fundraising.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 12:02 PM with the headline "‘Too conservative.’ Are Democrats trying to boost Kobach in Kansas GOP primary?."
