By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Democratic candidate Chris Mann was in Hays on Friday to discuss his campaign for Kansas attorney general.
Mann stopped by the Eagle Media Center on Friday for an interview with Hays Post. He said he is running because Kansas needs an attorney general focused on public safety rather than political agendas.
He announced his candidacy in July 2025.
"There's an opportunity to help a whole bunch of people in a really big way," Mann said.
Mann is a lifelong Kansan from Olathe who attended the University of Kansas before becoming a police officer at age 21. However, his law enforcement career was cut short after he was struck by a drunk driver while conducting a traffic stop in 2002.
After his injuries ended his police career, Mann attended law school at Washburn University and became a prosecutor in Wyandotte County.
"I did everything from traffic tickets to murder, and then moved to the state where I prosecuted white-collar criminals and fraud scam artists throughout the state," Mann said.
Mann now operates his own law firm, Downing, Davey, Vokins and Mann LLC, where he focuses on helping victims of drunk driving seek justice. He said his background uniquely prepares him for the state's top law enforcement position.
"Having someone that's worn a badge and that's stood toe to toe with violent criminals on the street or in the courtroom is what the job is about," Mann said.
Mann said one of his primary goals would be providing more support to local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. He added that most Kansas law enforcement agencies have 10 or fewer officers.
"The KBI and AG's office need to be there to step in because they don't have the resources or personnel to take on [complex cases] themselves," he said.
Mann said consumer fraud, drug abuse and domestic violence are major issues facing Kansas. He said artificial intelligence is making scams more difficult to identify as they increasingly target older Kansans.
"Just over the past couple of days, I've heard from law enforcement and folks that have lost tens of thousands of dollars to scams. We have to put a real focus on aggressively prosecuting those cases, but also educating folks," he said.
Mann said he has spoken with law enforcement across the state and that methamphetamine is making a comeback in some communities.
"Wichita just had a huge rash of overdoses a couple of weeks ago, so the problem is not going away and we have to do more to address it. We have to put more resources there to do that work," he said.
In addition, Mann said he has found domestic violence shelters struggling with limited funding and overcrowding, making it difficult for victims to leave dangerous situations.
"We need to work with partner agencies and organizations to get the resources necessary so that victims can escape that violence," he said.
Mann previously ran for attorney general in 2022, narrowly losing to Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach by about 1.6 percentage points. He said this time is different.
"I went up against the most well-known politician in the state of Kansas and we came darn close without any real resources," Mann said. "We're going to make sure we have the resources to get our message out to let folks know there's someone who just wants to do the work of the office."
"But also, we're more present in all areas of the state. I truly believe that face-to-face meetings with people in communities make a real difference."
"We're talking to community members, farmers, law enforcement and business owners. As we do that, we're hearing the very same thing from every group, which is they just want someone who's going to do the job, not someone who's going to pursue headlines or political agendas."
Voters will also decide in August whether to amend the state Constitution to make Kansas Supreme Court justices elected and end the current merit-based selection system for filling vacancies.
Mann said he opposes the proposed constitutional amendment, saying it would inject politics and special-interest money into judicial races.
"What we should be looking for are fair and impartial judges that are going to be able to make decisions that are sometimes unpopular," he said. "I think it's critical that we vote no on this amendment."
You can learn more about Mann and his campaign on his website.