US primaries: Trump allies win noms in Kansas, set up key midterm battles

Polling results in Kansas showed that former president Donald Trump’s influence lingers in the American electoral process even as the Republican is staring down a Congressional investigation about his links to the Jan 6 riots. 

Derek Schmidt won the GOP nomination to run for governor. The American politician earlier served as the attorney general of the state and was one of Trump’s allies who backed the claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Schmidt was also part of a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the election results but the Supreme Court rejected it. Going up against him is Democratic party candidate Laura Kelly. The incumbent Kelly faces a stiff race after having lost favour with several Republicans over COVID health restrictions. 

The Roe v Wade issue is expected to loom large as well, with Schmidt siding with the amendment to the constitution while Kelly remains firmly pro-abortion. 

Incumbent Jerry Moran got the nod from the GOP again for the senate race. Considering the Democrats had a hotly contested election with Mark Holland emerging as their candidate of choice, Moran who’s held the seat since 2011 has a good chance of winning. 

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The longtime senator was among those who opposed the formation of an investigative committee to examine the details of the Capitol insurrection on Jan 6.

Kris Kobach gets the nod for attorney general and the GOP candidate has also been a staunch supporter of Trump. He was on the former president’s voter fraud commission in 2017 and was endorsed by Trump for the gubernatorial race in 2018, but lost to Kelly. 

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Kobach, who prioritized issues such as border control, vowed to take on the Biden administration if he becomes attorney general. After his win, the 56-year-old told the Associated Press “2022 is going to be a very strong year for Republicans”, adding, “Conditions will be different.”