Kobach and Mann rematch for Kansas Attorney General in 2026

Kris Kobach and Chris Mann are returning to the ballot for the Kansas attorney general race in 2026, rematching the two candidates who competed for the office in 2022. Kobach, the incumbent Republican, defeated Mann by one and a half percentage points in the previous election, the smallest margin in a statewide contest that year. Both candidates are campaigning on distinct visions for the role, with Kobach emphasizing public safety and Mann focusing on institutional independence.

Financial data from the current funding period shows a shift in donor support compared to the 2022 campaign. Mann has raised $477,000 more than he did during the same window in his last race. Kobach has received approximately $22,000 less in recent donations than he did in 2022. Mann said he expects to raise more money this time and travel to more parts of the state to close the gap with the incumbent.

Kobach has built his political career on national issues including immigration and voting rights. He served in the George W. Bush administration, where he helped design the post-9/11 national security system that monitored male visitors from Muslim-majority countries. That program was dismantled during the Obama administration. Kobach chaired the Kansas Republican Party from 2007 to 2009 and won his 2010 bid for secretary of state by more than 20 percent after raising concerns about non-citizens voting. He later lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Laura Kelly by four percentage points and lost the 2020 Republican Senate primary.

More than 50 Kansas sheriffs have endorsed Kobach, citing the state's lowest crime rate in 56 years as evidence of his law-and-order leadership. His legal record includes challenges to Biden-era regulations, such as a suit over the Title IX rule that replaced the word sex with gender in educational opportunities. He also co-led a lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, alleging that the district allowed students to socially transition without parental notification. Additionally, Kobach worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to challenge in-state tuition benefits for non-citizens who grew up in Kansas.

Mann, a Democrat who has never held elected office, began his career as a police officer in Lawrence. He was injured when a drunk driver hit his patrol car, causing nerve and muscle damage that eventually forced his retirement. He later worked as a prosecutor in Wyandotte County and for the Kansas Securities Commission. Mann has spent much of his professional life representing victims of drunk driving and volunteering with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Mann’s platform argues that the attorney general’s office should not promote partisan agendas. He plans to support local law enforcement, expand training and mental health resources for police officers, and fight fraud, particularly cases involving AI-generated documents. He also aims to better fund domestic violence shelters. His campaign website states that the office has focused on scoring political points rather than protecting Kansans for the past three and a half years.

Kobach holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a Ph.D. from Oxford, and a law degree from Yale. He graduated first in the Harvard government department and received a Marshall Scholarship to attend Oxford. The 2026 election will determine whether Kobach retains the office or if Mann takes the lead in the state’s top legal post.