Mr. Kobach, who has spent years building a national profile, is a brash, outspoken ally of the president whose campaign rhetoric sometimes sounds like Mr. Trump’s and who has long excited the party’s base. Mr. Colyer, more measured in his speech and not known as well outside Kansas, was seen by many national Republicans as a safer general election candidate with more appeal to moderate voters. Though Republicans are dominant in Kansas politics, Democrats are energized and could benefit from the other side’s prolonged primary squabble. State Senator Laura Kelly, the Democratic nominee, and Greg Orman, a businessman running as an independent, will face Mr. Kobach in November. In a statement on Tuesday night, Ms. Kelly compared Mr. Kobach to Sam Brownback, the former Kansas governor whose conservative tax-cutting policies led to revenue shortfalls and significant budget cuts. Mr. Brownback, who was deeply unpopular by the end of his tenure, resigned early this year to become an ambassador. “With Kris Kobach as governor, Kansans get all of the failed policies of Sam Brownback plus Kobach’s unique brand of hyper-partisanship and self-promotion,” Ms. Kelly said. Though Mr. Kobach and Mr. Colyer had each acknowledged their race was too close to call after the initial count ended with a 191-vote margin, the days that followed brought increasing acrimony. Despite platitudes about party unity, the tone grew harsher after one rural county discovered a tabulation error that added 100 votes to Mr. Colyer’s tally. In recent days, Mr. Colyer warned that many political independents had been given faulty information at the polls and that their ballots may be improperly discarded. He also started a “voting integrity hotline” and accused Mr. Kobach, in his role as secretary of state, of providing bad advice to county election officials.<doc-sep>Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer concedes GOP primary to Secretary of State Kris Kobach Colyer said in a statement he hopes to see Kansas remain in Republican hands Share Shares Copy Link Copy Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT I GO WENDY POINT SHAPE IN A FEW MINUTES. LARA: WE BEGIN WITH THAT BREAKING NEWS. GOVERNOR JEFF COLYER CONCEDING THE GOP RACE FOR KANSAS GOVERNOR TO SECETARY OF STATE KRIS KOBACH. KRIS: ALL THIS AFTER NEW NUMBERS GAVE KOBACH A BIGGER LEAD. KMBC 9’S WILLIAM JOY IS LIVE IN TOPEKA WHERE COLYER DELIVERED HIS CONCESSION SPEECH TONIGHT. WILLIAM. REPORTER: COLYER’S THEME FO THIS SPEECH WAS DOING RIGHT THING AND THIS IS A MOMENT TO STEP UP AND DO WHAT’S BEST. AFTER THE RESULTS IN HIS HOME OF JOHNSON COUNTY SHOWED THE MARGIN GETTING WIDER, NOT SMALLER, SAID TONIGHT, THIS IS THE CLOSEST ELECTION IN AMERICA, BUT THE NUMBERS JUST AREN’T THERE. >> I’VE JUST HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND I CONGRATULATED HIM ON H SUCCESS AND I REPEATED MY DETERMINATION TO KEEP THIS SEAT IN REPUBLICAN HANDS. REPORTER: FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE SPEECH TONIGH COLYER WAS EMOTIONAL, HIS VOICE BREAKING AT TIMES. HIS FAMILY AND STAFF WHERE IN THE ROOM FOR SUPPORT AND THE PHRASE HE SAID MOST WAS THANK YOU. >> WE WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF KANSANS WHO VOTED FOR US. WE WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SUPPORTERS WHO GAVE THEIR TIME AND THEIR TREASURE AND THEIR BLESSINGS T MAKE OUR CAMPAIGN POSSIBLE I’M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS AND I’M VERY HOPEFUL THAT KANSAS’S FUTURE, OUR BEST DAYS, ARE AHEAD OF US. > COLYER SAID HE WON’T BE CHALLENGING THE RESULT IN COURT AND HE WON’T BE ASKING FOR A RECOUNT. HE DIDN’T’ TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS BUT MANY ARE LIKELY WONDERING WHY NOW AND WHAT’S NEXT. LIVE FROM THE CAPITOL, WILLIAM JOY, KMBC 9 NEWS. LARA: MICHEAL MAHONEY JOINS US NOW. MICHEAL WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP MOVING FORWARD. MICHEAL: UNITY IS A BIG STEP MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE THEY HAVE A 59% OF ALL OF THE VOTERS THAT CAST A BALLOT LAST TUESDAY. TH NOTED FACILITY BESIDES KRIS KOBACH. THEY NEED TO BUILD A REFRACTORY PARTY. THE FACT THAT TH FEEL THE KOBACH CAMPAIGN IS WINNING -- BREAKING AND EIGHT YOUR WINNING STREAK. THIS IT, YOU KNOW WHAT, IF HE WANTS TO LEAD THE PARTY, IT IS ALL HIS DOWN. A PIECE OF HISTORY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1956 THAT A KANSAS GOVERNOR WAS DEFEATED IN A PRIMARY. KRIS: DOES THE PRESENCE OF THE INDEPENDENCE IN THIS RACE, DOES HE BECOME A BIGGER FACTOR? MICHEAL: ABSOLUTELY. AS WE SAID JUST A MOMENT AGO, THIS IS A FRACTURED PARTY IN THE STATE OF KANSAS. THIS IS A TWO-PERSON RACE. KOBACH IS GOING TO HAVE HAV -- GO AGAINST BOTH CANDIDATES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO RUN A CAMPAIGN AND WHEN WHEN IT IS HEAD-TO-HEAD. IT IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU’RE IN A SITUATION WITH HER ARE THRE PEOPLE THEY ARE ATTACKING ON TWO DIFFERENT FRONTS. LARA: HERE’S A LOOK AT THE GOVERNOR’S RACE IN NOVEMBER. KOBACH WILL TAKE ON TOPEKA STATE SENATOR LAURA KELLY THE DEMOCRAT IN THE RACE AND INDEPENDENT GREG ORMAN IN NOVEM GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Submit Privacy Notice<doc-sep>Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer has ended his campaign to keep his job, conceding the Republican primary to Kris Kobach, whose forceful condemnations of illegal immigration over the years have catapulted him to the national stage and won him the admiration of President Trump. “The numbers are just not there,” Colyer said in a news conference Tuesday, after the latest tally of provisional and mail-in ballots increased Kobach’s lead to nearly 300 votes in the election held last week. More than 313,000 votes were cast. Kobach’s win is sure to set up a battle this fall in which national Democrats pour millions of dollars into the state in an effort to defeat one of the Trump’s closest allies. Kansas is staunchly Republican and hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 2006. But some political analysts believe that Kobach’s win could turn off moderates and drive more Democrats to the polls. Kobach, who is currently Kansas secretary of state, will face state Sen. Laura Kelly in November. Advertisement Her campaign has already started painting Kobach as too extreme for the state and too close to Trump. Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, Trump appointed Kobach to his immigration policy team. Months later, in May 2017, Trump tapped him to team up with Vice President Mike Pence to head a commission on voter fraud. Trump endorsed Kobach, calling him a “fantastic guy” who would be strong on immigration and crime. Some Republicans in Washington had urged Trump not to endorse any candidate in the race, fearing that a Kobach win could play into the hands of the Democrats by keeping moderates away from the polls in a pair of competitive congressional races in Kansas. Throughout the primary campaign, Kobach focused heavily on illegal immigration and frequently dropped Trump’s name in interviews, praising the administration for its hard-line approach. “That relationship with the president, mixed with a strong name identification and message on illegal immigration, definitely helped him,” said Neal Allen, chair of the political science department at Wichita State University. “It was almost like a perfect storm for him.” But, Allen said, “a wave of Democratic money is headed to the state.” “If Democrats can defeat Kobach, they defeat Trump as well,” he said. Advertisement Complicating things for Democrats, however, is a run by independent candidate Greg Orman, a businessman who challenged Sen. Pat Roberts in 2014. “Orman is really the secret weapon for Republicans in the general election,” said Patrick Miller, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas. “He could allow Kobach to win the race with just a plurality. So Kobach may be a weaker nominee for Republicans, but he will have that structural advantage of a three-way race.” For Republicans on Tuesday, the focus was on unity. Colyer endorsed Kobach’s campaign this fall, saying it was important to “keep this seat in Republican hands.” “Kansas is too important,” he said. Advertisement In a statement, Kobach thanked his rival and echoed his message of unity. “I will work hard to advance our shared values, and I look forward to working with Gov. Colyer and all Republicans to keep Kansas red in November,” he said. kurtis.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @kurtisalee Advertisement UPDATES: 6:55 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional statements from Colyer, Kobach. This article was originally posted at 6:20 p.m.<doc-sep>
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer conceded his extremely close Republican primary to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach — who will be the Republican nominee for governor — on Tuesday night. A week after the Kansas election, Colyer said he would not challenge the results of the vote tally in court or request a recount. Colyer’s concession comes as the two men were still locked in a close race a week after the Kansas primary on August 7. As of Tuesday, Kobach had more than a 300-vote lead on Colyer, according to Wichita Eagle reporter Jonathan Shorman. The governor sounded congratulatory in his speech, saying he wanted to ensure the next governor of the state was still a Republican. Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly, who won 51 percent of the vote in the August 7 primaries, will face Kobach in the fall, as will independent candidate Greg Orman. “We will make sure the next governor is fully prepared, and I hope it is a Republican governor,” Colyer said. Even with Colyer’s conciliatory speech, the last week in Kansas Republican politics hasn’t exactly been cordial as the last remaining votes were counted in an extremely close race. Vote-counting errors made the race between Kobach and Colyer tighter, and there were questions about why Kobach — the state secretary of state — didn’t immediately recuse himself from the recount process. As Vox’s Tara Golshan wrote last week: On Thursday, state election officials reported that they discovered an error that shortchanged Colyer 70 votes. According to the Washington Post, a clerical error in the secretary of state’s office entered Thomas County’s votes for Colyer as 422 votes, where it should have been 522. In another county, results that should have given 257 votes for Kobach and 220 votes for Colyer, instead were filed as 110 for Kobach and 103 for Colyer. Kansas doesn’t require an automatic recount in a close race; as Vox explained it’s up to a candidate, registered voter, or election officials to ask for one. The state would pay for a recount if the margin is less than .5 percent. The same day as the vote-error discovery, Kobach recused himself from the recount process, a move he described as symbolic. Kobach is a controversial conservative and staunch Trump ally who served as the vice chair of Trump’s now disbanded voter fraud commission. Trump endorsed him the day before the election. It is an unusual move for a Republican president to endorse the primary opponent of a sitting Republican governor, but Trump lending support for Kobach was a sign of how loyal the Kansas secretary of state is to the president. Democrats see an opportunity in Kansas, especially after former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s extremely unpopular conservative policies — including extreme tax cuts — left the state’s economy and school system in the lurch. Some Democrats are likely celebrating Kobach’s win; he is seen as such a hardline conservative that some think he would be easier to beat than Colyer. But Kobach has been in the state a long time, and the big question is whether Democrats — and Kelly in particular — can beat him in November.