Kris Kobach’s conservative star rises while Sam Brownback’s nova fades

On Monday, CNN and Fox wanted Kris Kobach on their airwaves.

So did the Heritage Foundation, a Philadelphia radio station, WIBW in Topeka and KMBC in Kansas City.

On Tuesday, it was another radio station and a pair of newspapers. Wednesday? The Fox Business Network, CNN again and the Kentucky Republican Party invited Kobach to swing by the delegation’s morning breakfast.

Demand for Kobach’s time is driven by his often controversial work for hard-core conservative positions — particularly when it comes to immigration and voting rights.

He’s outranked in Kansas by Gov. Sam Brownback, a politician with similarly hard-right convictions.

Brownback made his mark by cutting taxes and government. But now he’s in less demand than the secretary of state. That’s partly because his time in office is soon running out —while Kobach’s political career could still take many turns — but also because Kansas finances have turned sour.

The differences come in sharp relief at this week’s Republican National Convention.

Kobach doesn’t say no often unless “there are too many in one day,” Kobach said in an interview. “Then it gets tiring.”

In contrast, the Kansas governor was asked to speak only to a couple of state delegation breakfasts: Oregon on Wednesday, North Carolina on Thursday. A schedule his spokeswoman provided didn’t list any media appearances, and Brownback didn’t speak at the Monday or Tuesday morning gatherings for the Kansas crowd.

The relative lack of interest may be due to Brownback’s standing in Kansas and the ongoing struggles with the state budget. His much-maligned 2012 tax cuts continue to draw unfavorable reviews around the country — and even in the GOP race for Missouri governor, where candidate Catherine Hanaway recently disparaged the cuts as simply too much too fast.

Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said Brownback’s policies “are well received and understood by Republicans at the national level. His message of small government, putting more money in the pockets of hardworking Kansans and protecting the unborn and Second Amendment rights is a popular one.”

Still, a SurveyUSA poll out last week showed that 72 percent of Kansans held an unfavorable view of Brownback, while 22 percent have a favorable view.

Quadrennial national conventions often inspire assessments of up-and-coming politicians and note the phasing out of others, such as Brownback, who faces term limits and can’t seek another term in 2018.

To hear delegates talk here, Kobach has emerged as perhaps the most formidable Republican for the post-Brownback era. He is seen as a potential candidate for governor in 2018 or the U.S. Senate in 2020, when Sen. Pat Roberts’ seat comes open.

Some Republicans think Kobach, 50, could have knocked off Roberts two years ago if he had chosen to take on the then-three-term senator in the GOP primary.

“He can do whatever he wants,” said Tim Shallenburger, a former state House speaker and the 2002 GOP nominee for Kansas governor. “As far as the issues that are moving Republicans, he’s found the sweet spot.”

Those include abortion, Second Amendment rights and immigration, where Kobach has emerged as a leading figure — and a lightning rod — in the anti-illegal-immigration movement.

“Conservatives love him,” Shallenburger said. “Any candidate would hate to run against Kris Kobach.”

That’s especially true, he said, in a GOP primary that typically attracts lots of conservative voters.

For his part, Kobach said he’ll make a decision on his future at the end of the year.

“I feel satisfied when I’m making a difference,” he said. “If I’m just sitting in a fancy chair in a nice office, I’ll be bored out of my skull.”

But potential pitfalls loom. Kobach, for one thing, emerged as a Donald Trump backer early on. That could pay dividends if Trump goes on to win the White House. But it also could prove problematic if Trump loses and goes on to become a GOP whipping boy.

Another issue: Kobach is white-hot controversial. Just this month he served for the third time on the GOP platform drafting committee, where his contributions included support for a wall along the Mexican border and a denunciation of same-sex marriage.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed yet another lawsuit against the state over Kobach initiatives. This one charged that Kobach violated the Kansas Constitution and state law by creating a dual voter registration system that violates the Kansas Constitution and state law.

“We expected it,” Kobach said. “What they’re trying to do is kill our proof of citizenship law by a thousand cuts.”

Under a new rule Kobach has pushed, those who registered to vote at Kansas Division of Vehicles locations but didn’t provide proof of citizenship will be allowed to vote in federal races, but not local and state contests.

“Secretary Kobach continues to seek ways to confuse and obstruct voters in Kansas,” ACLU attorney Sophia Lakin said in a statement.

Is he too controversial for his own good?

“I don’t think so,” Kobach said. “The reason some on the left side of the political spectrum dislike me so much is that I say I’m going to do something, and I move mountains to make it happen.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Kris Kobach’s conservative star rises while Sam Brownback’s nova fades."