TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) 鈥� A former Kansas attorney general and failed candidate for governor has found at least initial success in his political comeback attempt, winning for an open U.S. House seat.
Former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt prevailed in the primary in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas over Jeff Kahrs, a former top regional federal health official, and Shawn Tiffany, a rancher. Even though Kahrs worked in former President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration, Schmidt won Trump鈥檚 endorsement.
In the Democratic primary, former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who held the 2nd District seat in 2007 and 2008, defeated Matt Kleinmann, a public health advocate who was a member of the 2008 national champion University of Kansas men鈥檚 basketball team.
Boyda won the nomination even though she riled up some party activists by positioning herself toward the political center for what she saw as a more viable general election campaign in the Republican-leaning district. She lost her 2008 race for reelection.
Messages seeking comment were left with both Boyda and Kleinmann.
The district's two-term GOP incumbent was not seeking reelection.
Boyda was the last Democrat to represent eastern Kansas in Congress, and the district became redder after the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew it two years ago. Schmidt, who is also a former state senator, raised the most money of any candidate, more than $616,000, including more than $119,000 since mid-July alone, according to campaign finance reports.
鈥淎merica needs more effective, conservative voices in public service,鈥� Schmidt said in a statement. 鈥淚 will continue to prioritize securing our border, stopping inflation, and rolling back big government鈥檚 overregulation and over-taxation of our daily lives.鈥�
Schmidt the governor's race in 2022 to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, and even though he embraced conservative causes in his three terms as attorney general, he continued to face criticism from the right. Kahrs suggested in mailings that he was not tough enough on illegal immigration, for example.
Besides Trump, Schmidt had the backing of Americans for Prosperity. Part of the political network of billionaire Wichita businessman Charles Koch and his family, the group can mobilize scores of low-tax, small-government activists in Kansas.
鈥淜ansas voters, once again, saw through the political attacks and made the right choice," said Liz Patton, the group's senior Kansas adviser said in a statement.
Republican voters were also settling contested primaries in two other districts where incumbents are seeking reelection.
In the 1st District, which includes western Kansas, two-term U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann prevailed easily over Eric Bloom, a farmer and real estate investor. Mann鈥檚 Democratic opponent in November is Paul Buskirk, an academic counselor and adviser for student athletes at the University of Kansas. It鈥檚 considered a safe Republican seat.
In the Kansas City-area 3rd District, Dr. Prasanth Reddy, an oncology and internal medicine specialist, defeated small business owner Karen Crnkovich for the right to challenge three-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state鈥檚 congressional delegation. Davids made headlines with her 2018 election as a lesbian, Native American and former mixed martial arts fighter.
There also were contested primaries in some of the 40 state Senate and 125 state House districts, and for offices in Kansas' 105 counties. Polls remained open across the state from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
Johnson County, the state鈥檚 most populous which includes the Kansas City area, had perhaps the most notable local race.
seeking a third term, lost the Republican primary to one of his former undersheriffs, Doug Bedford. Hayden received national attention for embracing election conspiracies and keeping an investigation of fraud allegations open at least two years without any criminal charges resulting. In November, Bedford will face Democrat Byron Roberson, a suburban city police chief.
In the 2nd Congressional District, many Republicans saw Schmidt as the leading candidate even before Trump's 鈥淐omplete and Total鈥� social media endorsement, thanks to Schmidt's name recognition.
The former president called Schmidt 鈥淎n America First Patriot" and added, 鈥淗E WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!鈥�
Still, Kahrs boasted that Trump chose him to be a regional director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and was a district director and senior adviser for LaTurner. Kahrs' campaign touted him as a 鈥渃onservative warrior.鈥�
鈥淚'm the only tested conservative in this race,鈥� Kahrs said during a candidate forum broadcast by Topeka-area public television's KTWU, an event Schmidt skipped.
Tiffany ran as a political outsider, often donning a cowboy hat during public appearances. In a mid-July forum on WIBW-TV in Topeka, he said the 鈥渞adical left鈥� has attacked the American dream and that "politicians 鈥� career politicians 鈥� have done nothing to stand in the gap on our behalf.鈥�
In the Democratic race, Boyda supported LGBTQ+ rights generally but said she opposes allowing transgender girls and women to play on female sports teams. She also called on President Joe Biden to for reelection the day after his disastrous debate performance, .
In a KTWU-TV forum last week, Boyda defended running a center-oriented, 鈥済eneral election鈥� campaign from the start. She pointed to Democrats' 10 losses in a row since her lone 2006 victory. Eight were by 14 percentage points or more.
鈥淨uite honestly, a lot of the 2nd District is not going to trust a Democrat going to Washington, D.C.," she said. 鈥淭hey want to make sure that you are moderate and that you are independent.鈥�
But Boyda's stance on transgender athletes drew immediate criticism, with Kansas Young Democrats calling it 鈥渄isgraceful"
鈥淚 believe that Democrats deserve to have a voice,鈥� Kleinmann, Boyda鈥檚 opponent in the primary, said during last week's forum. 鈥淪ome of the bravest people I know in Kansas are Democrats in a very red district because they're fighting for Kansas values, and that's the values I want to defend in Congress.鈥�
John Hanna, The Associated Press
