The office of state secretary is usually a quiet position, operating under the theory that no publicity is good. Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach has turned that philosophy on its ear. Kobach is the outspoken lightning rod that has worked to reform voter registration in Kansas, and helped Arizona and Alabama write laws to crack down on illegal immigration reported Brad Cooper for the Kansas City Star. That’s gotten him national attention.
Kobach has a democratic competitor in the upcoming election-- Jean Schodorf. Schodorf is a former Republican state senator from Wichita who was defeated in the conservative sweep of 2012.
Schodorf voted to require proof of citizenship when she was a senator. But she blames Kobach for what she sees as poor implementation of the new law.
“Kris Kobach said it would be easy and simple. He didn’t live up to his word,” Schodorf said. “I feel like we were misled. I want to make it right.”
Schodorf grew up on a farm in southeast Kansas. Her brother is Bill Kurtis, the Kansas television personality who hosted the long-running A&E series “Investigative Reports.”
