Kansas' top elections official is running for governor after pushing back on conspiracy theories

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas' top elections official launched a campaign for governor Wednesday after building his public profile by pushing back against unfounded election conspiracy theories and breaking with fellow Republicans on voting rights issues.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab is the first candidate to confirm plans to seek the GOP nomination in 2026 to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. He announced his campaign in an online video, giving the August 2026 primary race an early start.

Schwab has repeatedly vouched for the integrity of Kansas elections on his two-term watch, despite President-elect Donald Trump's false assertions that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Such assertions circulated widely within the GOP.

''There are people who try to make money off conspiracy theories — it's nothing new,'' Schwab said in an interview with The Associated Press. ''I think that train has run to the end of its track, that there's no money in trying to spread those type of things anymore.''

Schwab also has defended the use of ballot drop boxes and countered other Republicans' suggestions that voting by noncitizens — which is rare — is a serious problem in U.S. elections.

Republicans are keen to recapture the governor's office in GOP-leaning Kansas after Kelly narrowly won a second four-year term in 2022 despite Democratic President Joe Biden's unpopularity with voters. Many Republicans expect a crowded primary.

With Kelly in office, Republicans have been unable to enact some policies seen in other red states, such as a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and a program let parents use state education dollars to pay for private schooling. Schwab supports both ideas.

In his announcement video, he advocated a cut in local property taxes and endorsed proposed rules on foreign land restriction, particularly China, something Kelly vetoed last year. In Wednesday's interview, he said he wants Kansas to be seen as a place offering economic opportunities, ''where people can hold their values and afford to live.''

''California — beautiful place to live, you just can't afford to live there. The East Coast — economic opportunity, but you just can't afford to live there,'' he said. ''Kansas, we're just right there with this great economic opportunity.''

Schwab has become notable for his willingness to dispute fellow Republicans' assertions on election issues. He won a second term in 2022 after beating back a primary challenge from an election conspiracy promoter, Mike Brown, who later became Kansas Republican Party chair.

He has repeatedly expressed frustration over unfounded arguments that fraud is widespread, noting in December that GOP complaints dropped after Trump's victory in 2024. He attributed conspiracy theories to ''a small group of people'' and told reporters, ''When their person wins, then they don't complain.''

His embrace of ballot drop boxes has also put him at odds with some Trump supporters — including state Attorney General Kris Kobach — who suggest that they make fraud easier, despite a lack of evidence of problems.

''If I'm an illegal immigrant — I'm here illegally — the last thing I'm going to do is go to government to let them know I'm here,'' he told reporters in December after he and other state officials certified the state's November election results. ''And that's exactly what voter registration is.''

Schwab, 52, launched his bid for governor 8 1/2 years after a searing and highly public family tragedy: In 2016, one of his four sons, 10-year-old Caleb, died while riding what was billed as the world's tallest water slide at a now-demolished water park in Kansas City, Kansas.

The park closed after its 2018 season, and Schwab's family settled legal claims against its operators and other parties for nearly $20 million, according to court documents.

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