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KARI DELA CRUZ
JOSH BERMAN
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The battle for Kansas governor – it was just six months ago – is once again taking on life.
The candidates continue to race to become the front-runner, and now it has narrowed.
After seven days of campaigning, former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Kris Kobach, the Republican secretary of state who ran against her, are both in the lead.
“I’m not surprised,” Kobach said Friday after the candidates met at Kansas University. “I think they did a great job in this campaign.”
Their rivals face the same challenge: to win a third of the votes that Sebelius captured a year ago, as she did with 43 percent, while Kobach picked up 38 percent.
“We need to raise more money,” Kobach said.
Former Kansas Secretary of State and GOP gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach said he won’t campaign for former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius because she is trying “to ride this thing out.”
“I’m going to look at each candidate in the same way anyone would look at all of them,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
If the candidates aren’t able to work together, Kobach will focus on Kansas families.
“You can’t ignore the needs of the folks under the bus,” he said. “People don’t want to vote for someone who looks like they’re just on vacation.”
Kobach, 58, has been the Republican secretary of state in Kansas since January 2010, serving as acting governor for months when Sebelius was indicted on federal corruption charges.
Kobach had served in the state House and Senate before winning a seat in the U.S. congressional district for 10 years under Gov. John Kasich. He was elected secretary of state in 2002, serving until 2010.
“I’m just telling the truth, honest as I can be about the issues I’m going to run on and about the issues I’ve been involved in for the last 10 years,” Kobach said.
Sebelius, 59, is running for her first full term as governor, her first foray into national politics, and her first bid against another top
