Kobach, Lindstrom and Hamilton threaten to boycott Kansas GOP debate over format switch
Three of the four Republican candidates scheduled to appear in the Kansas Republican Party’s final U.S. Senate debate on July 15 are threatening to pull out of the event over format changes they say are meant to benefit Rep. Roger Marshall.
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Johnson County Commissioner Dave Lindstrom and Miami County businessman Bob Hamilton issued a joint statement Tuesday evening blasting Kansas GOP leadership for changing from a standard debate format — with all candidates on stage together— to appearing one at a time for an interview.
The three contenders said the switch for the event at the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison was made without consulting their campaigns. They alleged that it is intended to boost Marshall, a western Kansas congressman, by limiting interactions between the candidates.
“This is a clear effort to protect the establishment candidate from having to answer for his actions. By demanding a format change, Roger Marshall is running from the very questions that Kansas voters deserve answers to. We call on the Kansas GOP to honor the terms put forward earlier this year and reinstate the agreed upon format,” said the joint statement, which was sent out by Kobach’s campaign on behalf of the three candidates.
During last week’s debate in Wichita, Kobach repeatedly attacked Marshall on immigration policy, government spending and 2008 criminal case in which Marshall’s initial reckless driving conviction was reduced to a minor traffic infraction. An interview format would spare Marshall from having to share a stage with Kobach and face similar attacks in Atchison.
Shannon Golden, the executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said that the change to “a forum-style debate” was in line with a memorandum of understanding the party entered into with candidates in January and attributed the specific language to an addendum requested by the Kobach campaign.
“Any event in which multiple candidates are present and the candidates are directed to respond to one another or are asked to each respond to questions is considered a debate,” the memorandum states, according to copies provided by the state GOP and Kobach campaign.
“This format change we are doing falls in line with that,” Golden said.
Golden said the change was made based on feedback from viewers of the party’s previous debates, who wanted more time to hear from each of the candidates. Under this format, each would have 15 minutes to answer questions.
“We don’t want an hour of them screaming at each other,” Golden said, noting that the August 4 primary is quickly approaching.
Danedri Herbert, a spokeswoman for Kobach’s campaign, said her recollection from January was that the language in the memorandum was intended to allow for county parties to host candidate forums. She said that the change in formats goes against the spirit of the agreement at the very least.
The three candidates said in their email that unless the party reverts to its previous format— which candidates a chance to respond to each other— they will drop out of the debate.
An email from the party sent out earlier on Tuesday said that if a candidate dropped out his time would be equally distributed to the other candidates.
Asked if Marshall would have an hour to himself if all three candidates dropped out, Golden said “if Roger Marshall wants an hour to himself we would comply.”
Eric Pahls, a spokesman for Marshall’s campaign, also claimed the provision that allows the rules change was added in January at Kobach’s request.
“We all agreed and signed. We have done 3 debates in the format they’re asking for. Now Kris is desperately looking for any excuse to throw a fit and blame others for his failure,” Pahls said in a statement. “He should look in the mirror.”
Pahls also criticized Hamilton, a political newcomer who attended the May debate in Manhattan but skipped last week’s event in Wichita because it was the same week as his daughter’s wedding.
“We also find it ironic that Hamilton is so concerned after his bumbling performance in the second debate and entirely skipping the third debate,” he said.
The dispute surfaced the same day that former Gov. Jeff Colyer and former Rep. Kevin Yoder raised money for Marshall’s campaign in Mission Hills, an event which signals how the state’s GOP elite have consolidated around Marshall as an alternative to Kobach, the party’s unsuccessful 2018 nominee for governor.
This is not the first time other candidates have accused the state party of favoring Marshall, a candidate backed by the Kansas Farm Bureau and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
State GOP chair Mike Kuckelman wrote letters to Lindstrom and state Senate President Susan Wagle in April imploring them to drop out to allow Kobach and Marshall to have more of a one-on-one matchup, a move largely seen as intended to boost the congressman.
Wagle dropped out before the June 1 filing deadline, but Lindstrom rejected Kuckelman’s request and remained in the race.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 8:43 PM.
