Kobach loses to Kelly in Kansas governor contest Back to Top Live coverage: See new updates Live coverage: See new updates ...
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Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly beat Republican Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state who helped lead the president̢۪s now-disbanded committee on voter fraud, in the Kansas governor̢۪s race.
Although the state is deeply conservative, Kobach̢۪s aggressive campaign, which included a Jeep with a replica machine gun, helped tighten it.
Heading into the midterms, Republicans had unified control of Kansas, a state that has struggled for years with budget shortfalls, cutbacks to the state̢۪s infrastructure, education a nd health care. The last elected governor, Republican Sam Brownback, left office with his state in a fiscal crisis and his approval rating in the low-20s.
The fact the governor̢۪s race went down to the wire reflects a rebuke of Brownback̢۪s tenure, observers have said.
Some state Republicans, eager to distance themselves from the unpopular governor̢۪s legacy, were none too pleased when President Trump endorsed Kobach in the GOP primary, tipping the scales in his favor over sitting Gov. Jeff Colyer. Kobach has taken heat from both sides of the aisle over his work on Trump̢۪s voter fraud commission.
On the campaign trail, Kobach said he would preserve education funding while keeping taxes low.
Kelly, who has called Kobach “Sam Brownback on steroids,†received some late-campaign momentum after being endorsed by every living former Republican governor of Kansas â€" except Brownback.
Polls are beginning to close around the country after voters made their final choices on candidates for House, Senate and many races down the ballot. Lots of Americans voted early, bringing multiple states past their 2014 early ballot levels. President Trump hit multiple states to make his closing argument, and former president Barack Obama and other Democrats did the same for their side.
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