Derek Schmidt, former Kansas AG, launches campaign for Congress promising to 'fight back'

Schmidt held the office of state attorney general for more than a decade, from 2011 until January 2023. His initiation into Kansas politics came from serving as an assistant to U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, before entering the state Senate in 2001, where he rose to the rank of majority leader. He holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

As state attorney general, Schmidt had a reputation as a genial conservative. He emphasized the office’s traditional public safety and law enforcement roles but also filed politically-charged lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations. Schmidt in 2020 supported a lawsuit that sought to overturn former President Donald Trump’s electoral losses in key swing states by recycling baseless claims of illegal voting.

On Friday, Schmidt invoked Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who is standing trial in New York on allegations of business fraud related to hush money payments.

“My steady guidepost will be what is best for the people of the Second District and for America,” Schmidt said. “These past four years have made clear that America was stronger when President Trump served in the White House, and I look forward to working with him and others next year – yes, to truly make America great again.”

During the governor’s race, Schmidt’s campaign attempted to appeal to both his right flank and more moderate voters in some ways that ultimately fell flat. He proposed cutting taxes on Social Security income, a broadly popular position, while also playing up culture war issues, in one instance attempting to link Kelly to drag shows.

Kelly’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, in a text message said Schmidt would be the weakest candidate in the field “with the backbone of a wet blanket.”

In the congressional race, Schmidt will only need to win over a district comprising one-fourth of the state’s residents. The district also doesn’t include Johnson County, a new Democratic stronghold where Schmidt struggled in 2022.

And some of the issues are different. Debates over foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel, along with views on Trump, will play a role in a way they didn’t in the governor’s race.

“There’s such a divide right now. It’s going to take a person who’s willing to listen to other side, maybe work with the other side,” said state Rep. Chuck Smith, a Pittsburg Republican, describing the kind of candidate he wants.

Saying “Kansans know me,” Schmidt stressed his support for veterans and military members, farmers and ranchers, small businesses, Kansas colleges and universities, “for life” and the Second Amendment. His announcement didn’t specifically address his position on abortion.

“They know I am proud to be a Kansan. Always have been,” he said.

LaTurner’s announcement last week, citing a desire to pursue other opportunities and spend time with family, caught Kansas Republicans off-guard. Schmidt’s name quickly began circulating as a potential candidate.

Other possible candidates include state Sens. Caryn Tyson and Dennis Pyle, who mounted an independent campaign for governor in 2022. Some political observers say Pyle, who ran to the right of Schmidt, helped cost him the election by attracting conservative voters who may have otherwise supported the Republican nominee. Still, Kelly’s margin of victory was larger than the total number of votes Pyle received.

“I’m running for the Senate seat until I’m not,” Pyle told The Star on Thursday.

Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson is also weighing a campaign. Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, an Overland Park Republican, considered a run but on Thursday announced he had opted against a campaign.

No Democrats are currently in the race, after Eli Woody suspended his campaign earlier this year to run for a state legislative seat instead. The district, which was redrawn in 2022 to exclude Lawrence, is considered a relatively safe Republican seat. Former President Donald Trump won 57% of the vote in 2020.

“I think 2nd District Republicans are going to strongly support the folks who get in the race and whoever eventually becomes the nominee,” said Mike Kuckelman, a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.