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Kansas’ former attorney general wins the Republican nomination for an open congressional seat

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Kansas’ former attorney general wins the Republican nomination for an open congressional seat
News

News

Kansas’ former attorney general wins the Republican nomination for an open congressional seat

2024-08-07 12:11 Last Updated At:12:20

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas attorney general and failed candidate for governor has found at least initial success in his political comeback attempt, winning Tuesday’s Republican primary for an open U.S. House seat.

Former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt prevailed in the primary in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas over Jeff Kahrs, a former top regional federal health official, and Shawn Tiffany, a rancher. Even though Kahrs worked in former President Donald Trump’s administration, Schmidt won Trump’s endorsement.

In the Democratic primary, former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who held the 2nd District seat in 2007 and 2008, defeated Matt Kleinmann, a public health advocate who was a member of the 2008 national champion University of Kansas men’s basketball team.

Boyda won the nomination even though she riled up some party activists by positioning herself toward the political center for what she saw as a more viable general election campaign in the Republican-leaning district. She lost her 2008 race for reelection.

Messages seeking comment were left with both Boyda and Kleinmann.

The district's two-term GOP incumbent Jake LaTurner was not seeking reelection.

Boyda was the last Democrat to represent eastern Kansas in Congress, and the district became redder after the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew it two years ago. Schmidt, who is also a former state senator, raised the most money of any candidate, more than $616,000, including more than $119,000 since mid-July alone, according to campaign finance reports.

“America needs more effective, conservative voices in public service,” Schmidt said in a statement. “I will continue to prioritize securing our border, stopping inflation, and rolling back big government’s overregulation and over-taxation of our daily lives.”

Schmidt narrowly lost the governor's race in 2022 to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, and even though he embraced conservative causes in his three terms as attorney general, he continued to face criticism from the right. Kahrs suggested in mailings that he was not tough enough on illegal immigration, for example.

Besides Trump, Schmidt had the backing of Americans for Prosperity. Part of the political network of billionaire Wichita businessman Charles Koch and his family, the group can mobilize scores of low-tax, small-government activists in Kansas.

“Kansas voters, once again, saw through the political attacks and made the right choice," said Liz Patton, the group's senior Kansas adviser said in a statement.

Republican voters were also settling contested primaries in two other districts where incumbents are seeking reelection.

In the 1st District, which includes western Kansas, two-term U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann prevailed easily over Eric Bloom, a farmer and real estate investor. Mann’s Democratic opponent in November is Paul Buskirk, an academic counselor and adviser for student athletes at the University of Kansas. It’s considered a safe Republican seat.

In the Kansas City-area 3rd District, Dr. Prasanth Reddy, an oncology and internal medicine specialist, defeated small business owner Karen Crnkovich for the right to challenge three-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation. Davids made headlines with her 2018 election as a lesbian, Native American and former mixed martial arts fighter.

There also were contested primaries in some of the 40 state Senate and 125 state House districts, and for offices in Kansas' 105 counties. Polls remained open across the state from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.

Johnson County, the state’s most populous which includes the Kansas City area, had perhaps the most notable local race.

Sheriff Calvin Hayden, seeking a third term, lost the Republican primary to one of his former undersheriffs, Doug Bedford. Hayden received national attention for embracing election conspiracies and keeping an investigation of fraud allegations open at least two years without any criminal charges resulting. In November, Bedford will face Democrat Byron Roberson, a suburban city police chief.

In the 2nd Congressional District, many Republicans saw Schmidt as the leading candidate even before Trump's “Complete and Total” social media endorsement, thanks to Schmidt's name recognition.

The former president called Schmidt “An America First Patriot" and added, “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Still, Kahrs boasted that Trump chose him to be a regional director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and was a district director and senior adviser for LaTurner. Kahrs' campaign touted him as a “conservative warrior.”

“I'm the only tested conservative in this race,” Kahrs said during a candidate forum broadcast by Topeka-area public television's KTWU, an event Schmidt skipped.

Tiffany ran as a political outsider, often donning a cowboy hat during public appearances. In a mid-July forum on WIBW-TV in Topeka, he said the “radical left” has attacked the American dream and that "politicians — career politicians — have done nothing to stand in the gap on our behalf.”

In the Democratic race, Boyda supported LGBTQ+ rights generally but said she opposes allowing transgender girls and women to play on female sports teams. She also called on President Joe Biden to end his race for reelection the day after his disastrous debate performance, well before other Democrats.

In a KTWU-TV forum last week, Boyda defended running a center-oriented, “general election” campaign from the start. She pointed to Democrats' 10 losses in a row since her lone 2006 victory. Eight were by 14 percentage points or more.

“Quite honestly, a lot of the 2nd District is not going to trust a Democrat going to Washington, D.C.," she said. “They want to make sure that you are moderate and that you are independent.”

But Boyda's stance on transgender athletes drew immediate criticism, with Kansas Young Democrats calling it “disgraceful" on X.

“I believe that Democrats deserve to have a voice,” Kleinmann, Boyda’s opponent in the primary, said during last week's forum. “Some of the bravest people I know in Kansas are Democrats in a very red district because they're fighting for Kansas values, and that's the values I want to defend in Congress.”

FILE - Then-Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., delivers her concession speech, Nov. 4, 2008, at a Democratic Party watch party in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Then-Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., delivers her concession speech, Nov. 4, 2008, at a Democratic Party watch party in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt answers questions from reporters during a news conference, Oct. 11, 2022, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

FILE - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt answers questions from reporters during a news conference, Oct. 11, 2022, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s new central bank governor vowed Friday that the institution will fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism and will work independently away from political intervention.

Karim Souaid, who was speaking after officially taking office in Beirut, added that he will work on restructuring the banking sector, public debt and returning money to depositors.

Lebanon’s economy has been witnessing its worst crisis in its modern history since 2019 and the state must implement reforms demanded by the international community. Such reforms are needed to unlock international aid, and on top of that, Israel’s 14-month war with Hezbollah that caused what the World Bank estimates was $11 billion in damages and economic losses.

Lebanon’s crisis is rooted in decades of corruption by the country’s political and financial leaders that drained state resources and eventually led to a run on the banks in 2019 afterwhich people have lost access to their deposits. The situation has since been made worse with Covid-19, the massive Beirut port blast in August 2020 and the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Since the historic meltdown began Lebanon has been running on a cash economy and in October, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, an international anti-money laundering watchdog, placed Lebanon on its “grey list.”

“We will work on implementing international laws on top of them combating money laundering and supporting terrorism,” Souaid said. The former asset manager added that banks in Lebanon should recapitalize by pumping new money and those that cannot and don’t want to can merge with other lenders. He said that the priority will be to return deposits starting with people who have small accounts. He said the return of deposits should be the responsibility of the banks, central bank and the state.

Souaid said the central bank will study all economic recovery plans put forward by previous governments to help the small nation get out of the crisis.

Wassim Mansouri, who had been acting central bank governor since July 2023, said the central bank’s reserves stood at 10.727 billion at the end of March.

Souaid succeeds Riad Salameh, the embattled former governor of 30 years whose term ended with several international corruption cases lodged against him and for embezzlement and other financial crimes. Salameh was appointed in 1993, when Lebanon was scrambling to bounce back after a 15-year civil war.

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's central bank governor, right, shakes hands with the incoming interim governor Wassim Mansouri, during a handover taking office ceremony, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's central bank governor, right, shakes hands with the incoming interim governor Wassim Mansouri, during a handover taking office ceremony, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Karim Souaid, the newly appointed Lebanon's Central Bank governor, speaks during a taking office ceremony at the Lebanese Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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