Kris Kobach Increases Lead for Kansas Governorship: ‘We’re Optimistic’

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has increased his lead against GOP establishment-backed Gov. Jeff Colyer in the Republican primary for the Kansas governorship.

As Breitbart News reported, following the unofficial vote total in the gubernatorial primary last week, Kobach led Colyer by a little less than 200 votes. This prompted a count of all provisional ballots across the state.

.@KrisKobach1787 would be the first candidate in more than 60 years to beat out a sitting Kansas governor in a primary election. https://t.co/he8rqUAXQC

— John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) August 8, 2018

Today, after the first round of provisional ballots were counted, Kobach increased his lead over Colyer. The President Trump-endorsed Kobach now leads Colyer by 206 votes.

“We’re very pleased that we’ve expanded our lead today,” Kobach told Breitbart News. “We’re optimistic this trend will continue. The trend has been favorable for us.”

Tomorrow is even more important for Kobach’s effort to defeat the GOP establishment in the gubernatorial race. Though more than 70 of 105 counties have already counted and tallied their provisional ballots, the four largest counties in the state have yet to count those ballots.

Johnson County — the affluent suburbs where Colyer lives — and Sedgwick County where Wichita is located, a stronghold for Kobach, are to be counted tomorrow along with Miami County and Leavenworth County — both areas that Kobach won.

The odds remain in Kobach’s favor, though, the campaign can expect to lose at least some ground after Johnson County’s provisional ballots are counted. But, what Kobach will lose in Johnson County, he will likely make up for with Sedgwick, Miami, and Leavenworth Counties.

On Wednesday, another round of counties will be counted, including Shawnee County, which encompasses Topeka, and Wyandotte County, the region where Kobach once lived and won by a wide margin on election day.

Should Kobach deliver a major upset tomorrow in the provisional ballot counting of Johnson and Sedgwick County, it would make it increasingly difficult and unlikely for Colyer to make up ground and win the race.

The official results of the race are expected early next week.