Kris Kobach's comeback is complete. What's next for the Kansas attorney general office?

When Kris Kobach announced his bid for attorney general in April 2021, many dismissed the effort as another attempt by Kansas' most infamous politician to regain relevance.

Over the course of a campaign, Republicans hoped a more restrained campaign could rope in voters who had previously written off Kobach. Others believed that refreshing such a divisive political brand was tantamount to putting lipstick on a pig.

When Kobach took to the stage to claim victory over Democrat Chris Mann early Wednesday morning, vindication was clearly on his mind. The Associated Press called the race hours later.

"I don't care who you are or where you come from, you've got to love a comeback story," Kobach said.

More:Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly wins reelection, as Derek Schmidt concedes governor's race

Mann had not conceded the race as of Wednesday, saying he believes tens of thousands of advanced mail ballots remain outstanding, having until Monday to reach the county clerk's office.

"They deserve for their votes to be counted as the law allows," Mann spokesperson Kelli Kee said in a statement. "That is essential to democracy."

Kobach's victory will usher in an office that will be as active as any attorney general in the country in challenging the federal government in court, as well as embracing controversial tools to fight crime.

It will mark a shift, experts say, in the tenor of the attorney general's office in the state from a nonpartisan "top cop" to one that mirrors how activist officials have behaved in states like Texas in recent years.

And it was the highest profile win for Republicans on the ballot in Kansas, with Gov. Laura Kelly beating Republican Derek Schmidt, the current attorney general, in the state's hotly contested gubernatorial battle.

'Kris Kobach starts a new chapter'

When Kobach announced his campaign for attorney general in April of 2021, there was immediate speculation about how his controversial past could shape the campaign. The Kansas Chamber, a longtime foe, even launched a pre-emptive strike and joined with other business groups to spend big in an effort to oppose Kobach's candidacy in the primary.

But when Kobach prevailed over Sen. Kellie Warren and former federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi in what he termed Monday to be a "bruising" race in August, Kobach profited from his status as one of the highest profile names in Kansas politics.

"Kris Kobach starts a new chapter," said Bob Beatty, a professor of political science at Washburn University. "And in some ways, the sky's the limit."

At times, Kobach's potential baggage was in full view.

During the campaign, Kobach resigned his position with the embattled We Build the Wall group that landed former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in legal hot water. Some of Kobach's former adversaries backed Mann, such as the Kansas Livestock Association. Others, such as the Chamber and Kansas Farm Bureau, staunch supporters of Republican candidates, sat out the race.

More:Kansas voters opt to retain Supreme Court justices, as little opposition emerges

There were hints of Kobach's past hardline rhetoric on voter fraud, with Mann making Kobach's ill-fated defense of a law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote a key campaign issue. In 2018, Kobach was admonished by a federal judge over his defense of the law.

"I wouldn't have had the arrogance even wanting to be the chief lawyer for the state had I been reprimanded by a federal judge and told to go get remedial legal training," said Carla Stovall Steckline, a moderate Republican who served as attorney general between 1995 and 2003. "I'm stupefied frankly."

Still, Republicans said they found his 2022 campaign to be a welcome departure from his failed 2018 efforts. Kobach himself even praised it as the best run campaign he has ever been a part of.

During his bid for governor, Kobach notoriously appeared at parades with a Jeep Wrangler festooned with pro-Trump memorabilia and a pair of replica machine guns. In 2022, Kobach did not bring his jeeps to town.

"I think he's actually campaigning and discussing the issues that the voters are interested in this time," said Kelly Arnold, former chair of the Kansas Republican Party.

Some chalked up the fact that Kobach had won his race while Schmidt fell short because of third-party candidates in the governor's race.

"I don't think you can say that anybody outperformed anybody between two different races," Mike Kuckelman, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, told reporters early Wednesday morning.

Indeed, when including the third-party vote share with Schmidt's totals, he ran ahead of Kobach statewide. But there is still some evidence that Kobach gained the votes of some individuals who voted for Laura Kelly.

To many this would seem a bizarre combination. But Kobach said his campaign specifically targeted those voters by attempting to suss out what messages the governor's supporters might respond to, including a concerted effort to play up his educational background.

"People may have looked at my background and said that 'Kobach has the right skill set for attorney general,'" Kobach told reporters after claiming victory. "And I think, you know, that's something that can't really be underestimated, too."

Democrats targeted attorney general race as a top priority

Democrats, meanwhile, had hoped Kobach's presence on the ballot could give them a rare opportunity in the race to replace outgoing Attorney General Schmidt, who opted to forego a fourth term in favor of a run for governor.

Mann, a former Lawrence police officer turned attorney who made the AG run his first bid for public office, made attacking Kobach's past legal misadventures his principal campaign plank.

He repeatedly argued his opponent would approach the office with the perspective of a politician and even repeatedly calling him a "comic book villain" on the stump for saying he would seek to unravel a Kansas Supreme Court decision that confers state constitutional protections for abortion rights.

More:Shawnee County voters split sending Democrats, Republicans to Kansas House; who's in control?

Mann's defeat was a significant blow to Democrats, who have painted Kobach as public enemy No. 1. Mann bested Kobach in fundraising by a comfortable margin in the final reporting period before the election, though the Republican Attorneys General Association spent over half a million dollars in Kansas.

"I feel (Kobach) is one of the most dangerous politicians in this country," former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said after a rally for Mann on Saturday in Topeka. "And also the least well-equipped individual to serve as our attorney."

Faced with a surge of conservative voters across the state, Mann said he still felt his campaign was the best it could have been under the circumstances.

"I think we have run an absolutely amazing campaign," he said in an interview Tuesday. "We have taken someone with no name recognition at all in myself and we've done the hard work."

How might Kris Kobach run the attorney general's office?

Kobach has pledged to make suing the Biden administration a top priority, including in his campaign platform a pledge to start a civil litigation division in the office for just that purpose, mirroring a similar effort by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, said it was this issue in particular that he believed drew voters to Kobach's campaign.

"There's still a bit of consternation, about Kobach," he said. "But I think people see him as the one person that can really fight against the federal government and push back against the federal government. And two years into the Biden administration, they want somebody that's willing to do that. And I think that's why he won the primary, honestly."

Kobach also has zeroed in on fighting crime and the state's marked rise in overdose deaths associated with the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Part of his campaign platform entails seeking a sentencing enhancement for individuals who deal drugs that result in an overdose death.

More:Kansas voters keep status quo in U.S. House delegation of one Democrat, three Republicans

And Kobach has said he will push for changes to how Kansas selects its judges, with an eye toward undoing the 2019 Hodes v. Nauser ruling that found the Kansas Constitution confers a right to an abortion.

Kobach has signaled the possibility of hiring Mattivi, the former federal prosecutor who was one of the vanquished primary opponents, to a top job in the office.

"Tony and I have developed a good relationship after the primary," he said Monday. "And if he's willing to consider working in the office, I'd certainly be willing to have him in a leadership role.”

Perhaps most significantly, Kobach's election signals that Kansas will fully join a national trend, where state attorneys general are increasingly aggressive in using their office to challenge federal officials in court, rather than treating it as a nonpartisan platform.

"Kansans, buckle your seat belts and prepare for more lawsuits than we've ever seen before against the federal government," Beatty said. "He's promised it, and there's no reason he won't do it."

While Kobach has pledged to keep the office's other functions, such as consumer protection, alive and well, Stovall, the former Kansas attorney general, said the effort to file lawsuits against the Biden administration could detract from those other roles.

"I would suspect the majority of Kansans don't think the primary purpose of the AG's office is to sue the federal government," she said. "In the next four years, it may be that's what makes the headlines all the time and maybe that's what people become accustomed to. But I hope, after four years go by, people are tired of paying the bills for that."

The ACLU of Kansas, long a foe of Kobach who he explicitly targeted in his campaigning, congratulated Kobach on his victory and said "the ACLU and all those who care about civil rights will eagerly partner with him" if he chooses to reverse course from his past penchant for lawsuits.

"But should Mr. Kobach decide to follow through on his campaign promises of attacking civil liberties, denigrating democracy, and undermining the rule of law, we will relentlessly, persistently, and unflinchingly challenge those policies," the group said.

The dynamic could become even more nuanced with Kelly's victory.

Kobach said he was hopeful of a positive working relationship with the governor. He said he was hopeful Kelly might sign crime bills he favored — but cautioned he would be watching if there was any signs of executive overreach.

"Then we could find ourselves in an adversarial situation," Kobach said, "because it is ultimately the attorney general's job to ensure that the laws of Kansas are enforced."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kris Kobach's comeback is complete in Kansas. Here is what it means.