Kris Kobach defeated Tony Mattivi and Kellie Warren in the August 2, 2022, Republican primary for Kansas attorney general. The seat was open because incumbent Derek Schmidt (R) ran in the Republican primary for Kansas Governor.

Kobach served as the Kansas secretary of state from 2011 to 2019. Kobach ran unsuccessfully for Kansas governor in 2018, losing to Laura Kelly (D) in the general election. Kobach campaigned on creating a litigation team that would sue the Biden administration for what he described as violating federal law. Kobach pointed to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's (R) lawsuits against the federal government as a model for Kansas: "My objective is for Kansas to stand side by side with Texas so that more lawsuits can be brought and people will see that there are two states leading the charge against the Biden administration."^[1] In addition to creating a litigation team within the attorney general's office, Kobach listed prosecuting voter fraud, restoring what he calls pro-life laws, removing fees on conceal carry licenses, and cracking down on scams as his top issues.^[2]

At the time of the election, Mattivi was a retired U.S. assistant attorney who had worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. Mattivi ran on his experience as a prosecutor, saying voters should choose him because "you’ll have a choice and it’s a choice between the career prosecutor or the career politician. And I hope you agree with me that our chief law enforcement official ought to be a law enforcement official."^[1] Mattivi said his focus as attorney general would be fighting crime: "I’m not going to sit in my office thinking about creative ways to sue the federal government because there are other things that are more important to our state like keeping us safe."^[1] He listed fighting government overreach, backing law enforcement, protecting the Constitution, and enforcing the law as his top issues.^[3]

At the time of the election, Warren was a member of the Kansas Senate, a position to which she was first elected in 2020. In 2018, she was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives. Warren said voters should choose her because of her experience in the legislature: "With me, you have the record you can depend on of a battle-tested conservative who fights and wins. I win tough elections. I win policy battles that you care about. And I win in the courtroom as well. That's what we need in our next attorney general."^[4] Warren said she has a track record of defeating Democrats in elections, and has referenced Kobach's loss to Gov. Kelly (D) in 2018 as a warning to voters: "Losing elections has consequences. We are paying a high price in Kansas for having lost in 2018. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”^[5] Warren listed defending the Constitution, protecting the Second Amendment, and limiting government overreach as top issues.^[6]

Kobach, Mattivi, and Warren expressed support for the Kansas No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot on August 2, 2022.^[7] The measure would have amended the Kansas Constitution to state that nothing in the state constitution creates a right to abortion or requires government funding for abortion and that the state legislature has the authority to pass laws regarding abortion.

The Kansas attorney general is the chief law enforcement agency for the state. The attorney general provides legal services to state agencies and boards, protects consumers from fraud, assists the victims of crime and defends the state in civil proceedings. The attorney general is directly elected in 43 states. The attorney general is appointed by the state legislature in Maine, by the state Supreme Court in Tennessee, and by the governor in the remaining five states.

This page focuses on Kansas' Republican Party Attorney General primary. For more in-depth information on Kansas' Democratic Attorney General primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kris Kobach	42.3	200,904
	Kellie Warren	37.9	180,367
	Tony Mattivi	19.8	94,155

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 475,426
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Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Kris Kobach

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Kansas Secretary of State (2011-2019)

Biography: Kobach earned a bachelor's degree in government at Harvard in 1988 and a Ph.D in politics from the University of Oxford in 1992. In 1995, Kobach earned a law degree from Yale University. His professional experience includes serving as Counsel to the Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Kobach said he would create a special litigation team within the Attorney General's Office whose focus would be suing the Biden administration.

Kobach campaigned on prosecuting voter fraud, saying, "In 2015 [as Kansas Secretary of State] I drafted the law that gives both the Kansas Secretary of State and the Kansas Attorney General the ability to prosecute voter fraud. As Attorney General, I will be the first Kansas Attorney General to use that authority to prosecute voter fraud."

Kobach said he would end conceal and carry license fees because "Concealed carry permits are way too expensive."

Show sources

Sources: Kris Kobach 2022 campaign website, "Kris Kobach Launches Five-Point Plan for Kansas Attorney General’s Office," May 31, 2022; Kris Kobach 2022 campaign website, "Meet Kris," accessed July 3, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Kansas in 2022.

Tony Mattivi

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Mattivi earned a law degree from the Washburn University School of Law in 1994. His professional experience includes working as the Assistant U.S. Attorney and Anti-terrorism and National Security Coordinator for the District of Kansas.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Mattivi campaigned on fighting federal government overreach, saying, "The Federal Government doesn’t know what’s best for Kansans – only we do."

Mattivi said he would defend police officers: "Our men and women in uniform risk their lives to protect us every single day. Nobody will be defunding the police when I’m Attorney General – I’ll have their backs, just like they have ours."

Mattivi campaigned on protecting the Constitution, saying, "I’ve spent my entire career prosecuting those who are trying to take our freedoms away. As Attorney General, I’ll continue fighting to protect the Constitution and the freedoms it grants all Kansans."

Show sources

Sources: Tony Mattivi 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 3, 2022; Washburn University School of Law, "Passion for Justice Earns Mattivi, '94, Exceptional Civilian Service Award," accessed July 3, 2022; Tony Mattivi 2022 campaign website, "About Tony," accessed July 3, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Kansas in 2022.

Kellie Warren

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Kansas State Senate (Assumed office: 2021)

Biography: Warren earned a bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University in 1991 and a law degree from the University of Kansas in 1994. Her professional experience includes working as an attorney with Shook, Hardy, & Bacon L.L.P. and Property Law Firm.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Warren has campaigned on defending the Constitution, saying, "As Attorney General, I’ll defend both our federal and state constitutions from those who see both as living, breathing documents that they can mold as they see fit. I’ll also advocate for reform so our Kansas Supreme Court selection system is accountable to the people."

Warren said she will protect the Second Amendment: "I will work to defend the constitutionally protected rights of gun owners and fight every day against the Biden Administration’s gun-grabbing policy agenda."

Warren has campaigned on limiting government overreach, saying, "During COVID-19 we saw our state and local governments far too often overstep their authority, shutting down private businesses and even placing severe limits upon when and how churches could conduct services."

Show sources

Sources: Kellie Warren 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 4, 2022; Linkedin, "Kellie Warren," accessed July 4, 2022; Kellie Warren 2022 campaign website, "About Kellie," accessed July 4, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Kansas in 2022.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Kris Kobach

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Kris Kobach while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Tony Mattivi

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Tony Mattivi while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Kellie Warren

July 5, 2022

July 5, 2021

View more ads here:

YouTube

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Kansas Secretary of State. Click here to access those reports.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
Kansas Attorney General
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: June 1, 2022
	Primary: August 2, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Derek Schmidt (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Kansas
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Kansas; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; State Board of Education (5 seats); Insurance Commissioner

See also: Presidential voting trends in Kansas and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Kansas, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Kansas' 1st	Tracey Mann	Republican	R+18
Kansas' 2nd	Jacob LaTurner	Republican	R+11
Kansas' 3rd	Sharice Davids	Democratic	R+1
Kansas' 4th	Ron Estes	Republican	R+14

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Kansas^[8]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Kansas' 1st	34.1%	63.7%
Kansas' 2nd	40.7%	57.0%
Kansas' 3rd	51.2%	46.7%
Kansas' 4th	38.0%	59.7%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 60.9% of Kansans lived in one of the state's 100 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 29.3% lived in one of three New Democratic counties: Johnson, Riley, and Shawnee. Overall, Kansas was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Kansas following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Kansas county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	100	60.9%
New Democratic	3	29.3%
Solid Democratic	2	9.8%
Total voted Democratic	5	39.1%
Total voted Republican	100	60.9%

Historical voting trends

Kansas presidential election results (1900-2020)

5 Democratic wins
26 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Kansas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Kansas.

U.S. Senate election results in Kansas
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	53.2%	41.8%
2016	62.1%	32.2%
2014	53.1%	42.5% (Independent)
2010	70.3%	26.2%
2008	60.0%	36.4%
Average	59.7	35.8

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Kansas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Kansas.

Gubernatorial election results in Kansas
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	48.0%	43.0%
2014	49.8%	48.1%
2010	62.3%	32.2%
2006	57.9%	40.4%
2002	52.9%	45.1%
Average	54.2	41.8

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Kansas' congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Kansas, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	3	5
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Kansas' top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Kansas, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Laura Kelly
Lieutenant Governor	David Toland
Secretary of State	Scott Schwab
Attorney General	Derek Schmidt

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Kansas State Legislature as of November 2022.

Kansas State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	11
	Republican Party	29
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Kansas House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	39
	Republican Party	86
	Independent	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		125

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Kansas was a divided government, with Democrats controlling the governorship and Republican majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Kansas Party Control: 1992-2022
No Democratic trifectas • Sixteen years of Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Kansas and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Kansas
	Kansas	United States
Population	2,937,880	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	81,758	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	83%	70.4%
Black/African American	5.7%	12.6%
Asian	3%	5.6%
Native American	0.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Other (single race)	2.7%	5.1%
Multiple	4.8%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	12.1%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	91.4%	88.5%
College graduation rate	33.9%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$61,091	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	11.4%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Election context

Election history

2018

See also: Kansas Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kansas

Incumbent Derek Schmidt defeated Sarah Swain in the general election for Attorney General of Kansas on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Derek Schmidt (R)	59.0	614,436
	Sarah Swain (D)	41.0	427,289

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,041,725
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Sarah Swain advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Swain	100.0	140,503

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 140,503
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Incumbent Derek Schmidt advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Schmidt	100.0	269,212

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,212
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2014

See also: Kansas attorney general election, 2014

Attorney General of Kansas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Derek Schmidt Incumbent	66.8%	564,766
	Democratic	A.J. Kotich	33.2%	281,105
Total Votes				845,871
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2010 for the office of Kansas attorney general, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

See also: Kansas Attorney General election, 2010

Kansas Attorney General, General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Derek Schmidt	54.9%	458,497
	Democratic	Steve Six	41.9%	349,340
	Libertarian	Dennis Hawver	3.2%	26,867
Total Votes				834,704
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State

State profile

Demographic data for Kansas
	Kansas	U.S.
Total population:	2,906,721	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	81,759	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.8%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	3.3%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	11.2%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$52,205	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Kansas

Kansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Kansas coverage on Ballotpedia

2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

Marquee, completed election, 2022

[kman-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 KMAN, "Two of three GOP candidates for Kansas AG visit Manhattan for Saturday forum," June 19, 2022

[kobach-2] Kris Kobach 2022 campaign website, "Kris Kobach Launches Five-Point Plan for Kansas Attorney General’s Office," May 31, 2022

[3] Tony Mattivi 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 6, 2022

[4] Hutch Post, "Warren cites policy experience, conservatism in run for Kansas AG," June 29, 2022

[5] Kansas Reflector, "Attorney general candidates Kobach, Mattivi and Warren hunt for votes, work to disarm rivals," March 13, 2022

[6] Kellie Warren 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 6, 2022

[7] Kansas Reflector, "Attorney general candidates Kobach, Mattivi and Warren hunt for votes, work to disarm rivals," March 13, 2022

[8] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Kansas	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

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Kansas Attorney General election, 2022 (August 2 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

Campaign advertisements

Kris Kobach

Tony Mattivi

Kellie Warren

Endorsements

Election competitiveness

Polls

Election spending

Campaign finance

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

Kansas State Senate

Kansas House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

Election context

Election history

2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kansas

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas

2014

Full history

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

2022 battleground elections

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

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2024 Election analysis

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