Republican and Democratic candidates differ on priorities, death penalty, compliments
OVERLAND PARK — Republican Kris Kobach and Democrat Chris Mann clashed Tuesday in a debate on their top priority as Kansas attorney general, their perspectives on capital punishment and even what they considered their opponents’ greatest attribute.
Mann and Kobach were on stage for a one-hour debate sponsored by the Johnson County Bar Association that broadly tackled issues of law enforcement, the legal system and the judicial branch. They rarely agreed but shared wariness of potential abuse of AI-powered video surveillance systems and endorsed rigorous enforcement of state open meetings and records law.
The 2026 campaign for attorney general represents a repeat of the 2022 race narrowly won by Kobach, who edged Mann by 15,800 votes, or about 1.6 percentage points.
Mann, a Lawrence attorney who had his law enforcement career ended when a drunk driver struck him during a traffic stop, said he was motivated to bring the office of attorney general “back to Kansans.” He said the office was turned into a vehicle to promote Kobach’s personal political agenda. He said the role of a state attorney general was to enforce law rather than dive into partisan conflict.
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“I spent my entire life running towards the problem, and I’m not done with that yet. From police officer to prosecutor, I’ve continue to work to keep our community safe,” Mann said. “My opponent has never worn a badge. He’s never stood toe to toe with violent criminals on the street or in a courtroom. Instead, that man has run for almost every office in the state of Kansas, and he’s done it because he wanted to push his political agenda.”
Mann, who announced he was endorsed by the Kansas State Fraternal Order of Police, said a focus of an attorney general must be the support of Kansas law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminals. He asserted Kobach hadn’t done enough to aid local agencies.
Kobach, a resident of rural Lecompton who served as Kansas secretary of state before being elected as attorney general in 2022, said his reelection was endorsed by 50 sheriffs in Kansas. He said his top second-term priority would be continuation of an “extremely effective” crackdown on the scourge of fentanyl abuse. He said four years of emphasis on hindering trafficking of the powerful drug had reduced fatalities in Kansas.
Overall, he said, the Kansas crime rate had fallen to a 57-year low through reprioritization of work by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and promotion of collaboration among local and federal agencies. He said the Kansas office of attorney general was doing more to assist county prosecutors than any other in state history.
“The bottom line is crime is plummeting in the state of Kansas,” Kobach said. “A lot of it has to do with how we’ve used the KBI and also how we’ve removed violent illegal aliens who are allowed to remain in Kansas.”
Kobach said he was committed to persuading more cities and counties to enter agreements with federal agencies to enforce immigration law.
He said he was among only two state attorneys general in the country who personally argued cases in court. He said he had tackled nine such cases in state or federal courts and won seven. The state’s interests were successfully defended in lawsuits filed against the administrations of President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, he said.
“I will sue the Trump administration again if they do anything to violate the Constitution,” Kobach said. “I love this job. I love being able to say to say to a judge, ‘Your Honor, I’m here representing the state of Kansas.’”
Death penalty
Kobach said the botched lethal injection in Tennessee of convicted killer Christa Pike on Sept. 30 shouldn’t prompt Kansas to consider repeal of capital punishment. Kansas hasn’t executed anyone since 1965.
If anything, Kobach said, Kansas should adjust state law to speed appeals of people sentenced to die. The state should accept his recommendation to reduce reliance on injection of drugs for executions and use gas to suffocate the condemned instead, he said. He also said no person, including Pike, who was involved in a failed execution should be exempted from that ultimate punishment.
“Kansas should still be in the execution business,” Kobach said. “When you delay 20 or 30 years, in actually carrying out the execution, then you deny justice to the family.”
Mann, who operates a private legal practice focused on defending victims of drunk driving, said it wasn’t the job of the attorney general to drive policy on capital punishment. He said that was the domain of the Kansas Legislature. He did say the death penalty hadn’t been shown to deter violent crime and the failed execution in Tennessee illustrated a challenge that state lawmakers should address.
“The rule of law in Kansas right now is the death penalty,” Mann said. “If a case like that comes across my desk, I’ll prosecute it, plain and simple.”
Moderator Nick Haines, executive producer of Kansas City’s PBS television station, asked the candidates about potential abuse of automated license plate readers that create searchable logs of vehicle traffic.
Mann and Kobach agreed the camera systems had been used to help law enforcement solve crimes, but both said privacy rights and abuse of personal information by rogue police officers should be dealt with by state governments. They said private companies operating the systems need to be held accountable.
“What rights does storing and transferring that data implicate?” Mann said. “I think those are important questions that need answers. That’s up to our Legislature to put up guardrails.”
Kobach said storage of information on motorists by government without probable cause should be viewed as a constitutional infringement. He said state law ought to restrict retention of data to license plates that were part of investigations. In addition, he said, the state ought to impose heavy penalties on law enforcement officers who abused access to the records. That should include financial fines, loss of employment and potential jail time, he said.
Haines lightened the mood by asking the political rivals to articulate what they admired of their opponent. Mann said he appreciated Kobach’s public speaking skills, while Kobach praised Mann’s experience as an officer in the Lawrence Police Department.
“I will say that my opponent is a great adversary on the debate stage,” Mann said. “I’d never actually debated before I jumped into running for office. So, I appreciate his adversarial skills.”
In reply, Kobach said Mann’s experience of serving on the front line of law enforcement offered important insight that would be beneficial to anyone serving as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
“I think that’s admirable,” Kobach said. “I thank him for his service when he was a law enforcement officer. And, I think, he’s also a nice guy.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: [email protected]. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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More coverage: Election 2026
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Kansas attorney general nominees Kris Kobach, Chris Mann tussle in campaign debate
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