PITTSBURG — Sen. Kellie Warren and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach repeatedly clashed Thursday over who was best suited to ensure a GOP victory on election night and battle Democratic administrations at the state and federal levels.
On one side was a candidate with experience in statewide office but blemishes on his election record. On the other was a Leawood Republican lawmaker who is actively pursuing change in the Legislature but without statewide experience. In the middle was Tony Mattivi, a former federal prosecutor, who contrasted himself with his opponents by arguing he was a career prosecutor while they were career politicians.
Mattivi faced questions about his conservative bona fides as well during the first attorney general debate in Pittsburg, the unofficial kickoff to the summer election season.