Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he discussed his GOP Senate bid with President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE during a visit to the White House in January.<\/p>\n
Kobach told\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0in an interview on Friday that he did not ask Trump to endorse him but that the president has not ruled out declaring his support for the Senate campaign.<\/p>\n
A source familiar with the meeting told The Hill that Trump has met with Kobach and Rep. Roger MarshallRoger W. MarshallDeadline for Kansas Senate race passes without Pompeo filing The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip Family Research Council endorses Roger Marshall in Kansas Senate primary MORE (R-Kan.), who is also running for the Senate\u00a0seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat RobertsCharles (Pat) Patrick RobertsTrump tweets spark fresh headache for Republicans Trump’s tweet on protester sparks GOP backlash\u00a0 GOP lawmakers stick to Trump amid new criticism MORE (R).<\/p>\n
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“As he has done with many primary races, the president has met separately with both candidates vying for the GOP nomination in the Kansas Senate race \u2013 Mr. Kobach and Rep. Marshall,” the source said.<\/p>\n
The White House did not comment to the Journal about Kobach’s interview.<\/p>\n
Kobach, an outspoken hardliner on illegal immigration, launched his Senate bid in July, casting his campaign as an effort to install a strong Trump ally in the Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere really hasn\u2019t been anyone in the Senate pushing [Trump\u2019s] agenda,\u201d Kobach told his supporters at his launch. \u201cIf I am elected, God willing, to the United States Senate, I will be leading the charge for President Trump.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kobach is known to have ties with the president. He had been considered for a Cabinet position before he was tapped to lead a panel investigating allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election,\u00a0a\u00a0probe that was shuttered\u00a0over a lack of evidence.<\/p>\n
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Despite his connections\u00a0to those around Trump, Kobach has not been embraced by many establishment\u00a0GOP groups for his Kansas Senate run,\u00a0with many worrying that his hardline stances particularly on immigration could put the ruby red\u00a0seat at risk.<\/p>\n
Kobach ran for Kansas governor in 2018 with the president\u2019s support and won a tough primary race before losing to Democrat Laura Kelly in the general election, an outcome some Republicans\u00a0argued could have been avoided with another GOP nominee.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust last year Kris Kobach ran and lost to a Democrat. Now, he wants to do the same and simultaneously put President Trump\u2019s presidency and Senate Majority at risk. We know Kansans won\u2019t let that happen and we look forward to watching the Republican candidate they do choose win next fall,\u201d the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said in July after Kobach\u2019s Senate campaign launch.<\/p>\n
The NRSC and other establishment Republicans had hoped Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoPompeo: US response to Floyd protests a ‘stark contrast’ to authoritarian regimes Trump administration accuses international court of corruption at ‘highest levels,’ authorizes sanctions A crisis on the Korean peninsula reinforces the need for allies MORE, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, would jump into the race, but he ultimately decided not to run.<\/p>\n
Kobach dismissed the NRSC\u2019s concerns to\u00a0the Journal, pointing to\u00a0internal data that he said shows he can win \u201cwith a significant margin.\u201d<\/p>\n