Kris Kobach

Kris Kobach
Born	Kris William Kobach 26 3, 1966
Birthplace	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, politician
Known for	Immigration enforcement advocacy, voter identification laws
Education	Harvard University (BA) Brasenose College, Oxford (MPhil, DPhil) Yale University (JD)
Children	5

Kris William Kobach (born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 45th Attorney General of Kansas since January 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Kobach previously served as the 31st Secretary of State of Kansas from 2011 to 2019, a period during which he became one of the most polarizing figures in American electoral politics. He rose to national prominence through his advocacy for strict immigration enforcement measures and his implementation of some of the most rigorous voter identification laws in the United States, frequently claiming that widespread voter fraud threatened the integrity of American elections — assertions that courts and independent analyses repeatedly challenged. Before entering statewide office, Kobach served on the Overland Park City Council, chaired the Kansas Republican Party, and was the Republican nominee for Kansas's 3rd congressional district in 2004. His career has been marked by a series of high-profile legal battles over immigration and voting rights, as well as unsuccessful bids for governor and the U.S. Senate before his election as attorney general in 2022.

Early Life

Kris William Kobach was born on March 26, 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin. He grew up in Kansas and became involved in politics and public policy at an early age. Details regarding his parents, siblings, and upbringing in Kansas are limited in the available public record, though his subsequent career trajectory — rooted firmly in Kansas politics and law — indicates deep ties to the state.

Kobach's intellectual interests led him to pursue an extensive education that would take him from the American Midwest to the Ivy League and then to England. His academic achievements would become a defining feature of his professional biography and his later arguments in courtrooms and legislatures across the country.

Education

Kobach earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. He subsequently attended Brasenose College at the University of Oxford as a graduate student, where he earned both a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil). He then returned to the United States and obtained a Juris Doctor (JD) from Yale Law School. This combination of credentials — doctorates from both Oxford and Yale — positioned Kobach as one of the most academically credentialed figures in Kansas politics and provided the foundation for his later career as a law professor and litigator specializing in immigration and constitutional law.

Following his legal education, Kobach joined the faculty of the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, where he taught courses related to constitutional law and immigration. His academic work focused on issues of state and local authority over immigration enforcement, a subject that would become the central theme of his public career.

Career

Early Political Career and Congressional Race

Kobach entered electoral politics as a member of the City Council of Overland Park, Kansas, one of the largest cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. This local government experience provided his first platform for public service and engagement with constituents on municipal issues.

In 2004, Kobach became the Republican nominee for Kansas's 3rd congressional district, challenging Democratic incumbent Dennis Moore. The district, which encompassed portions of the Kansas City suburbs including Johnson County, was considered competitive. Kobach lost the general election to Moore. Despite the defeat, the race raised Kobach's profile within the state Republican Party.

Kobach served as the 64th chairman of the Kansas Republican Party from January 28, 2007, to January 31, 2009, succeeding Tim Shallenburger and being succeeded by Amanda Adkins. In this role, he oversaw party operations, fundraising, and candidate recruitment during a period of significant political activity in Kansas.

Immigration Advocacy

Kobach became nationally known for his legal work on immigration enforcement, particularly his involvement in drafting and defending anti-undocumented immigration ordinances adopted by various cities and states across the United States. Working as an attorney and consultant, Kobach helped craft legislation that empowered state and local governments to take enforcement actions traditionally considered the domain of the federal government.

His work in this area included advising municipalities that adopted ordinances targeting undocumented immigrants, as well as contributing to the development of state-level immigration enforcement legislation. Kobach served as counsel or consultant to jurisdictions seeking to implement measures such as penalties for landlords who rented to undocumented immigrants and requirements for employers to verify the immigration status of workers.

However, many of the ordinances and laws Kobach helped craft or defend faced legal challenges, and a significant number were struck down or enjoined by federal courts. An investigation by ProPublica documented a pattern of courtroom defeats that proved costly to the municipalities and states that had hired Kobach as a legal advisor, with taxpayers in some jurisdictions paying substantial legal fees and settlements as a result of unsuccessful litigation.

Kobach also became involved in the legal challenge to Kansas's law allowing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants who had attended Kansas high schools. This case drew attention to the broader national debate over the intersection of state education policy and federal immigration law.

Secretary of State of Kansas (2011–2019)

Kobach was elected Secretary of State of Kansas in 2010, winning nearly 60 percent of the total vote. He took office on January 10, 2011, and served under Governors Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer until January 14, 2019.

Voter Identification Laws

As Secretary of State, Kobach implemented some of the strictest voter identification requirements in the history of the United States. He championed a Kansas law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls and, more controversially, requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. The proof-of-citizenship requirement became a focal point of national debate over voting rights and election administration.

Kobach argued that these measures were necessary to prevent noncitizen voting and protect election integrity. He sought authority to prosecute election fraud cases and pursued the removal of nearly 20,000 registered voters from the state's voter rolls. Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), charged that Kobach's policies disenfranchised eligible voters, particularly minorities, the elderly, and young voters who were less likely to possess the required documentation. The ACLU and other organizations called on Kobach to "respect the rule of law" and accused him of "creating deliberate confusion" around voter registration requirements.

Election Fraud Claims

Kobach frequently asserted that voter fraud was a widespread problem in the United States. However, analyses of the evidence in Kansas and nationally found that instances of proven voter fraud were exceedingly rare. An NBC News investigation found that in Kobach's own state, cases of confirmed illegal voting were minimal despite years of intensive investigation. A Bloomberg analysis described Kobach's approach as "voter fraud bluffing," noting a significant gap between the secretary of state's claims and the actual number of documented cases.

Kobach's proof-of-citizenship requirement was ultimately struck down in federal court. In Fish v. Kobach (2018), U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled that the law violated the National Voter Registration Act and found that Kobach had failed to demonstrate that noncitizen voter fraud was a significant problem. The judge also sanctioned Kobach for failing to comply with court orders during the litigation. The Kansas City Star editorial board was among those critical of Kobach's tenure, arguing that his efforts had done more to suppress legitimate votes than to prevent fraud.

National Prominence and Presidential Advisory Commission

Kobach's advocacy on voter fraud issues attracted the attention of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Following Trump's election in 2016, Kobach was named vice chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was established to investigate claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election. The commission was dissolved in January 2018 without issuing a final report, amid legal challenges and refusals by many states to provide requested voter data. Kobach's role on the commission further elevated his national profile but also drew sustained criticism from voting rights organizations and Democratic officials who viewed the panel as an effort to justify voter suppression measures.

The New York Times Magazine profiled Kobach in 2017, describing him as "the man behind Trump's voter-fraud obsession" and documenting his extensive influence on the administration's approach to election integrity and immigration policy.

2018 Gubernatorial Campaign

In June 2017, Kobach announced his candidacy for Governor of Kansas. The 2018 Republican primary pitted Kobach against then-Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, who had ascended to the governorship in January 2018 following the resignation of Sam Brownback to become U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

The Republican primary was among the closest in Kansas history. Kobach defeated Colyer by fewer than 500 votes, a margin so slim that it prompted a recount and days of uncertainty before Colyer conceded. The primary was notable in part because Kobach, as Secretary of State, oversaw the state's election machinery — a fact that raised conflict-of-interest concerns among critics and political observers.

In the November 2018 general election, Kobach faced Democratic state senator Laura Kelly. Kansas, a state that had voted Republican in every presidential election since 1968, was considered competitive due in part to dissatisfaction among moderate Republicans with both Kobach's positions and the fiscal legacy of the Brownback administration. Kelly defeated Kobach, becoming only the second Democratic governor of Kansas in decades.

2020 U.S. Senate Campaign

In July 2019, Kobach launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of longtime Republican Senator Pat Roberts. Kobach entered a crowded Republican primary field. Despite his name recognition, he faced significant opposition from national Republican leaders who feared that his nomination could jeopardize a seat in a reliably Republican state. U.S. Representative Roger Marshall ultimately defeated Kobach in the August 2020 Republican primary by a margin of approximately 14 percentage points, ending Kobach's bid for federal office.

Attorney General of Kansas (2023–present)

Kobach became the Republican nominee for Kansas Attorney General in 2022 and was narrowly elected to the post on November 8, 2022, succeeding Derek Schmidt. He took office on January 9, 2023.

Immigration and Education Enforcement

As Attorney General, Kobach has continued his focus on immigration-related enforcement. In June 2025, Kobach asked the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to investigate four Kansas school districts, including Topeka's USD 501, over what he characterized as potential violations related to immigration and educational policy.

Gender Identity Litigation

Kobach has been involved in multiple legal actions related to transgender rights and gender identity policy. In January 2026, a Kansas judge issued a symbolic $1 sanction against Kobach in a gender marker case, with the judge stating that Kobach "should have known" better than to file a particular motion in the case. In February 2026, Kobach moved to dismiss a lawsuit related to a previous anti-transgender law as a new, stricter law was set to take effect in Kansas.

Disputes with Governor Kelly

Kobach's tenure as Attorney General has been marked by a significant power struggle with Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. In October 2025, Governor Kelly filed a lawsuit against Kobach in the Kansas Supreme Court, alleging that the Attorney General was overstepping his constitutional authority. In January 2026, the Kansas Supreme Court took up the dispute, described by observers as an "extraordinary power struggle" between the state's top two elected officials over control of state legal representation and policy direction.

Personal Life

Kobach has five children. He resides in Kansas and has maintained a career that combines law practice, academic work, and public service. Prior to his election as Secretary of State, Kobach served on the faculty of the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law, where he taught courses in constitutional law and immigration law.

Details regarding his family life beyond the number of his children are limited in the publicly available record. Kobach's public persona has been defined primarily by his legal and political activities rather than personal disclosures.

Recognition

Kobach's career has generated extensive media coverage and public commentary, though the attention has been divided between praise from supporters of stricter immigration and election enforcement and criticism from civil liberties organizations, voting rights advocates, and political opponents.

The New York Times Magazine featured Kobach in a 2017 profile exploring his influence on national immigration and voting policy, characterizing him as a central figure in the Trump administration's approach to election integrity. The Washington Post profiled him in 2016 as "the conservative gladiator from Kansas behind restrictive voting laws," documenting his role in shaping state-level voter identification legislation across the country.

ProPublica's investigation into Kobach's legal work on immigration enforcement documented a series of courtroom defeats and highlighted the financial costs borne by municipalities that retained his services. His tenure as Secretary of State drew both national praise from conservatives who supported his election integrity efforts and condemnation from organizations such as the ACLU, which accused him of voter suppression.

As Attorney General, Kobach has continued to attract national attention for his positions on immigration enforcement, transgender rights, and his conflicts with Governor Kelly. His actions have been the subject of editorial commentary in Kansas and national media outlets.

Legacy

Kobach's political and legal career has had a measurable impact on the national debate over immigration enforcement and election administration in the United States. His work as a legal consultant helped establish the framework for state and local governments to take an active role in immigration enforcement, though many of the specific measures he championed were ultimately struck down by the courts.

As Secretary of State of Kansas, Kobach's proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirement represented one of the most ambitious attempts by a state official to restrict voter registration in the modern era. The requirement's eventual invalidation in federal court served as a significant precedent in voting rights litigation and was cited by voting rights organizations as evidence of the dangers of voter suppression under the guise of fraud prevention.

Kobach's role as vice chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity placed him at the center of a national controversy over the extent of voter fraud in U.S. elections. The commission's dissolution without a final report was interpreted by critics as an implicit acknowledgment that the evidence did not support claims of widespread fraud, while supporters maintained that state resistance to the commission's requests prevented a thorough investigation.

His repeated bids for higher office — including the governorship in 2018 and the U.S. Senate in 2020 — and their outcomes illustrated the limits of his appeal even within the Republican electorate in Kansas, a state where intraparty divisions between moderate and conservative factions have shaped political outcomes for decades. His election as Attorney General in 2022 demonstrated his continued viability as a candidate in statewide races, and his ongoing disputes with Governor Kelly have defined the political dynamics of Kansas state government in the mid-2020s.