DGA Statement on Kris Kobach Announcement

Today, the DGA released the following statement in response to Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach’s announcement for governor:

“Kris Kobach would reinstate the disastrous Brownback tax policy that dragged Kansas into fiscal ruin,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “As Secretary of State, Kris Kobach aggressively chased the national spotlight pushing outlandish voter fraud conspiracy theories when he should have been doing his job for the people of Kansas. Kris Kobach would mean four more years of Sam Brownback’s harmful policies in Kansas.”

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Kobach Called Brownback a “Transformative Governor.” According to the Kansas City Star, “Secretary of State Kris Kobach praised Brownback, whom some have called the most conservative chief executive in Kansas history, as a ‘transformative governor’ who ‘has a lot of momentum going into his second year.’” [Kansas City Star, 2/4/12]

In June 2017, Kobach Defended Brownback’s Record, Denounced Vote to Override Veto on Tax Bill. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Kobach, best known for his controversial stances on immigration and voter fraud, is widely expected to run for the Republican nomination. He denounced the Legislature’s override vote.  ‘Kansas does not have a taxation problem; it has a spending problem,’ he said, suggesting that the state could have balanced its budget by cutting spending across state agencies and reducing the number of government employees. He added that Mr. Brownback could hold up other accomplishments as governor — his toughening of laws on abortion and guns — that go beyond fiscal matters. ‘Certainly the tax cuts were a central part of his agenda for the last six and a half years,’ Mr. Kobach said. ‘There’s no doubt that that part is damaged.’” [New York Times, 6/7/17]

Kobach: “We Made A Huge Step With The Governor’s Tax Cut.” According to the Wichita Eagle, “Kobach said the state has gone ‘two steps forward and one step back’ in the past 10 years when it comes to taxes. ‘We made a huge step with the governor’s tax cut that took us down to 4 percent on income tax,’ he said. ‘Then this past cycle, sales taxes went up, I think, in a disturbingly high fashion.’ He said the state “must continue the march to zero on income taxes if we’re going to have this high sales tax.’ ‘It’s a long road ahead on that march,’ he said.” [Wichita Eagle, 8/8/15]

An April 2017 Morning Consult Poll Showed Brownback Had a 27% Approval Rating. According to the Morning Consult, “Two-thirds (66 percent) of Kansans disapprove of Brownback, who has been floated as a possible ambassadorial pick for Trump, and 27 percent of Kansans still approve of his job performance.” [Morning Consult, April 2017]