Pawnee County Sheriff Switches AG Endorsement From Kobach To Mattivi

By Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

March 8, 2022

TOPEKA — The Pawnee County sheriff endorsed former federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi in the Republican Party primary for attorney general and simultaneously withdrew support for former Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Sheriff Scott King said Kobach requested and received his backing early in the GOP campaign, but consideration of alternative candidates led to the shift.

“As Pawnee County sheriff, I think I owe the public my honest opinion, and my opinion is that nobody is better qualified than Tony to be our next attorney general,” King said in a statement Monday. “I believe that Tony is the best candidate for AG because he has the interests of the state of Kansas at heart.”

King said the state needed an attorney general who supported law enforcement and had a background in criminal justice.

Mattivi, of Topeka, retired in 2020 from the U.S. Department of Justice as an assistant U.S attorney. He was the anti-terrorism and national security coordinator for the District of Kansas.

The job will be open because Attorney General Derek Schmidt is running for governor. Mattivi is campaigning for the GOP nomination with Kobach and state Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican. In December, the political action committee of the Kansas Chamber endorsed Warren.

Lawrence attorney Chris Mann is a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for attorney general.

In July, Kobach announced endorsements from 10 sheriffs, including King in Pawnee County and Sheriff Bill Carr in Ford County. Carr shed his endorsement of Kobach in January.

Carr said Mattivi was the lone candidate qualified to serve as attorney general in Kansas. He said Mattivi prosecuted challenging and complex cases and that the next attorney general should be a “law enforcement professional, not a politician.”

Kobach, who lost a contest for U.S. Senate in 2020 and the governor’s race in 2018, served two terms as secretary of state. He launched his campaign nearly one year ago by declaring the importance of keeping the attorney general’s office in Republican hands.

He also vowed to challenge attempts by the administration of President Joe Biden to undermine state rights.

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