<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619722041889.png" alt="Kris Kobach is running for another office, Kansas attorney general. Kansas News Service photo" />
 <figcaption>Kris Kobach is running for another office, Kansas attorney general. Kansas News Service photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEPHEN KORANDA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-04-29/kris-kobach-is-back-running-for-office-setting-his-sights-on-kansas-attorney-general">Kansas News Service</a>WICHITA, Kansas — Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris
 Kobach kicked off a race for state attorney general Thursday, aiming 
his hardline immigration and voting policy politics at the state’s top 
legal and law enforcement office.Kobach called the office a last 
line of defense against policies pushed by President Joe Biden and 
Democratic leaders in Congress. Kobach raised concerns about limiting 
gun rights, the federal government setting election laws and immigration
 policy.“If the Biden administration tries to take away our 
Second Amendment rights here in Kansas, they’ll have to get through me 
first,” Kobach said at an event in Wichita announcing his run. “If the 
Biden administration tries to relocate illegal aliens to Kansas in 
violation of the standards of federal law, they’ll have to get through 
me first.”Kobach raised the profile of the secretary of state’s 
office by bringing it to the forefront of voter security fights. That 
office typically handles administrative and election duties and flies 
under the radar.With duties in law enforcement and representing 
the state in court, as attorney general Kobach would hold an even more 
powerful platform for pushing those issues.Should he win the 
Republican primary and the general election — he’s got deep support 
among conservatives, and just as strong opposition from moderates and 
Democrats — he’d enter the job with a national profile rare for a state 
attorney general even rarer for a Kansas politician.Kobach said he’d work to defend any abortion restrictions approved by state lawmakers.“When
 the Legislature passes a law to protect the unborn or to protect our 
way of life in a manner the Left does not like, the ACLU and its allies 
inevitably sue,” Kobach said in a news release. “The attorney general 
must have the expertise and the willingness to defend our laws in 
court.”The Kansas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717449336/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortionhttps://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717449336/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">ruled in 2019</a>
 that the Kansas Constitution protects the right to an abortion. Voters 
will decide in the August 2022 primary, when Kobach seeks his party’s 
nomination for attorney general, whether to reverse that ruling. The<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-28/kansas-constitutional-amendment-saying-theres-no-right-to-abortion-is-headed-to-voters" target="_blank"> ballot measure</a> is likely to draw more anti-abortion voters to the polls.Critics
 of the amendment say it could open the door to lawmakers approving much
 stricter abortion laws or even an outright ban. Supporters say it’s 
needed to protect regulations Kansas has already imposed on abortion.Kobach had filed documents <a href="http://ethics.ks.gov/CFAScanned/StWide/2022ElecCycle/Treasurers/SW02KK_AT.pdf" target="_blank">late Wednesday night</a> to appoint a treasurer for his campaign. That’s the initial step for raising money for his campaign.His latest move comes after high-profile losses for the aggressively conservative Republican —<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2018-11-07/kelly-beats-kobach-promises-shell-ditch-partisan-ways-as-governor" target="_blank"> losing the governor’s race</a> to Democrat Laura Kelly in 2018 and falling short of the Republican nomination for the<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-04/kansas-u-s-senate-race-is-set-as-marshall-beats-kobach-for-gop-nod-other-races-unsettled" target="_blank"> U.S. Senate</a> in 2020.The attorney general’s office is slated to open up because Republican incumbent Derek Schmidt announced he’s<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2021-03-09/kansas-attorney-general-derek-schmidt-makes-his-2022-run-for-governor-offical" target="_blank"> running for governor</a>. Former Gov. Jeff Colyer is also in that race.Kobach
 has been a lightning rod, with a dedicated base of supporters who 
helped him narrowly defeat fellow Republican then-Gov. Colyer in the 
2018 primary election. But his positions also energize opposition from 
Democrats and some Republicans.After losing the governor’s race, some Republican groups<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-07-20/democrats-want-to-face-kobach-in-senate-race-but-a-gop-group-is-spending-millions-to-stop-him" target="_blank"> turned on him</a>
 during his 2020 run for the U.S. Senate. They argued nominating him 
would risk losing the office to a Democrat. Kobach ultimately lost the 
GOP primary to then-U.S.Rep.Roger Marshall.Serving as attorney 
general would bring Kobach back into a statewide office — a potentially 
bigger stage than what he had as secretary of state. Even in that job, a
 largely record-keeping job that politicians often use as a stepping 
stone, he built a national reputation as an immigration hardliner and 
for pressing often-refuted claims about the prevalence of voter fraud.Kobach
 pushed through the passage of a strict Kansas voting law that required 
proof of citizenship. Kobach argued it kept elections secure, but 
critics said it prevented thousands of eligible Kansans from registering
 to vote.The law was eventually knocked down in court, and he faced<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2019-10-28/kobach-sanctioned-for-misconduct-in-voting-rights-case-but-not-found-dishonest" target="_blank"> judicial sanctions</a> for how he performed in the case. His arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court brought him chastisements from the judge.Kobach has also been a close ally of former President Donald Trump, winning<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2018-08-06/trump-endorses-kobach-for-kansas-governor-over-republican-incumbent" target="_blank"> Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement</a> in the GOP primary for governor. Kobach also led<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2017-05-11/kansas-secretary-of-state-kobach-to-help-lead-presidential-commission-on-voter-fraud" target="_blank"> a voter fraud commission</a> created by Trump that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/03/575524512/trump-dissolves-controversial-election-commission" target="_blank">Trump dissolved</a>
 after pushback from states and a lack of evidence of widespread 
cheating. Kobach defended Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud 
in the 2016 and 2020 elections. He also advised the president on 
immigration issues.In the years following his 2018 loss to Kelly,
 Kobach served as director and general counsel for We Build The Wall — a
 501(c)4 nonprofit that was crowdsourcing millions of dollars to build a
 private border wall on the country’s southern border. All the group’s 
leaders,<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article245106375.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article245106375.html" target="_blank">except Kobach</a>, were later charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.In October 2020, Kobach made headlines again <a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2020/10/07/kobachrsquos-latest-venture-sanitizing-systems-to-fight-covid-19/43099187/" target="_blank">for peddling</a>
 a refrigerator-sized device touted as a COVID-killing machine and a 
large room sanitizer to Kansas legislators, promising an investment 
could bring hundreds of jobs to Wichita. The <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/03/14/kobach-teamed-up-with-wichita-businessman-to-sell-covid-killing-device-an-investigation-found-no-merit-to-their-claims/" target="_blank">efficacy of the products</a> made by Wichita-based MoJack Distributors has not been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency or health experts.It’s
 still very early in the race, so there’s time for candidates to change 
their minds and run for different offices or drop their races 
altogether.Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter and news editor for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Stephen_Koranda" target="_blank">@Stephen_Koranda</a> or email him at stephenkoranda@kcur.org.&nbsp;Abigail Censky of the Kansas News Service and Nadya Faulx of KMUW contributed to this report.

UPDATE: Kobach announces run for Kansas attorney general