Colyer attacks Kobach on abortion, pardon. Kobach calls governor desperate
The fight marked a new, meaner phase in the Republican race for governor.
Colyer went after Kobach's record on abortion and spending and said Kobach had sought a pardon for a campaign donor. Kobach said Colyer was lying and accused him of repeated deceptions.
The exchanges came during a boisterous debate among several Republican candidates for governor in
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Before Saturday, Colyer had often declined to attack Kobach directly. But during the debate, Colyer made comment after comment about his Republican rival.
Colyer charged that Kobach "wants you to pay for his court fines" after he used a state-issued credit card to pay a penalty for misleading the court in a federal lawsuit over
Kobach said Colyer is "desperate, he's attacking" and was being dishonest about Kobach's record.
The fight between the two men started early, with Colyer saying in his opening statement that Kobach had once described himself as pro-choice.
"You need a governor who is pro-life and will always tell you the truth," Colyer said.
Kobach described his views on abortion as pro-choice in 2000 on a
On Saturday, Kobach said he didn't know where Colyer had gotten his information. He said seeing the sonogram of his first child had changed his views on abortion, which he said had previously included thinking there were some exceptions where abortion was OK, though he didn't name those.
"I realized there are no exceptions," Kobach said.
This week, Kobach announced he has been endorsed by Kansans for Life. "KFL knows I am 100 percent pro-life," Kobach said Saturday.
He shared the news ahead of the organization, which also endorsed Colyer. KFL said Insurance Commissioner
Kobach said he would shrink government by not filling positions as state employees retire, though he said he would except law enforcement. He also said he supports consolidating services among school districts.
He promised an executive order to require state agencies and contractors to use E-Verify to ensure undocumented immigrants are not working for the state.
He promised
"If you want a Republican governor who will maintain the status quo, who will not rock the boat, who will not threaten the establishment, then I would say you have plenty of other choices on this stage and you should not vote for me," Kobach said.
Colyer challenged Kobach's financial record and the two men feuded over Kobach's management of the budget of the secretary of state's office. Kobach has said he cut the office's budget from
Colyer said Kobach had been able to cut the size of his office's budget largely because of a loss of federal funds. Kobach said that wasn't the case and that his office still has more than
Kobach said Colyer was either "ignorant or intentionally misleading" the audience.
"I believe that one should not bear false witness against one's neighbor," Kobach said.
During closing statements, Colyer said Kobach had sought a pardon for the vice president of a corporate donor.
"There are two types of horses: show ponies and work horses," Colyer said, summing up his arguments against Kobach.
Kobach said Colyer not only "tells lies about me, he tells lies about other people." He added that he would be a "war horse."
Kobach approached then-GOP Gov.
It has donated a total of at least
Bader was accused of temporarily taking a cellphone from a cab driver who took him to his home in suburban
Kobach said Bader had been accused of using a gun and that a judge had found no firearm was used. That contention is based on a sentencing form where the judge marked that the crime had not been committed with a deadly weapon.
The two other candidates on stage, Selzer and "entrepreneurial evangelist"
Selzer promised he would "lean in on costs" in an effort to make government work more efficiently. He sought to differentiate himself from the other candidates by focusing on transparency, and noted he is the only candidate in the race who has released tax returns.
He indirectly referenced the number of no-bid contracts
"We are going to lead with transparency. And I can tell you, you will never, ever have a transparent state, transparent organization, transparent contract development -- like we haven't had -- all of those things, you'll never have that if the leader isn't fully transparent himself," Selzer said.
Kucera called for
"I believe history will show that
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