Schmidt lassos endorsement of Kansas Farm Bureau PAC; feedlot owner Tiffany whiffs

Attorney General Derek Schmidt speaks against Gov. Laura Kelly's pandemic policies during a Wednesday rally. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — The political action committee of the Kansas Farm Bureau on Monday endorsed former Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the five-candidate Republican primary in the state’s 2nd congressional district.

KFB’s PAC — Voters Organized To Elect Farm Bureau Friends — has for three decades backed candidates for public office who championed farming and ranching while representing values of rural life.

“From his time in the Legislature and as attorney general, Derek Schmidt has proven he’s a friend of agriculture,” said Joe Newland, president of Kansas Farm Bureau.

He said county-level Farm Bureau members who endorsed Schmidt pointed to “his strong support of KFB policy and his experience” in state government. The PAC’s 10-member board relied on recommendations of KFB members for the endorsement of Schmidt over feedlot co-owner Shawn Tiffany of Delavan, former Trump administration appointee Jeff Kahrs of Topeka as well as GOP candidates Chad Young of Lawrence and Michael Ogle of Topeka.

“I am incredibly grateful to once again have earned the endorsement of Kansas Farm Bureau’s VOTE-FBF, just as I have in every previous race I have run for public office,” Schmidt said. “Kansas farmers and ranchers know it’s vitally important to have a voice in Washington who understands the issues facing our rural communities, and can stand tall in representing their values.”

Schmidt, of Independence, said he worked alongside Farm Bureau and agriculture interests during his years as attorney general and while serving in the Kansas Senate. He opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to impose stringent regulations on waterways. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court limited EPA’s authority to use the Clean Water Act to regulate waters of the United States.

“I’m honored that the men and women of Farm Bureau have placed their trust in me, and I won’t let them down,” Schmidt said.

Polling favors Schmidt

In a mid-May poll of 1,500 likely Republican primary voters by the political firm co/Efficient in Kansas City, Missouri, Schmidt was supported by 44% of Kansans surveyed. Kahrs, endorsed by former Gov. Sam Brownback, had 4% in that poll. Nearly half respondents said they were undecided.

Tiffany, a former president of the Kansas Livestock Association, was at 3% in the poll, but that was before he made a marketing push with cowboy-themed advertisments denouncing moderate Republicans, transgender children, undocumented immigrants and liberals.

A political unknown when he announced in April, Tiffany aggressively sought the Farm Bureau PAC’s endorsement in a bid to boost his campaign.

The 2nd District covers 27 counties in the eastern part of the state, but wraps around the Kansas City metropolitan area. It includes Topeka, Emporia and the bulk of southeast Kansas. The GOP primary will select a nominee to run in place of U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, who declined to seek reelection in 2024. LaTurner won U.S. House campaigns with 57% of the vote in 2022 and 55% of the vote in 2020.

Democrats will chose in the August primary between former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda of Baldwin City and Matt Kleinmann, a community organizer in Wyandotte County who played basketball at University of Kansas.

KFL, Paxton and Schlapp

Recently, the political action committee of Kansans for Life endorsed Schmidt and Kahrs. Both candidates said they welcomed support of the anti-abortion organization.

“Having the endorsement of Kansas for Life shows the people of faith believe in me,” Kahrs said. “We must send someone to Congress that will not just vote right, but who will be a fighter for the lives of the unborn. I will seek to end all funding to the agencies that provide abortions.”

Schmidt said that if elected in November he would be a “compassionate and effective” representative in Washington, D.C., who pressed for “commonsense safeguards like preventing federal tax dollars from funding abortions.”

In addition, Schmidt was endorsed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In March, Paxton agreed to perform 100 hours of community service, take 15 hours of legal ethics courses and pay $270,000 in restitution to avoid trial on felony securities fraud allegations. He was impeached by the GOP-controlled Texas House in 2023 in a bribery scandal, but was acquitted by the Senate.

Paxton supports a near-total prohibition on abortion access and has sued the administration of President Joe Biden more than 50 times.

“Derek Schmidt has always stood side by side with the state of Texas as we fought to overcome Biden’s failures on border security,” Paxton said. “I’m proud to endorse Derek’s campaign, and I can’t wait to have him fighting for our shared conservative values in Congress.”

Kahrs, who worked on Capitol Hill for LaTurner and former U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, was endorsed by Matt Schlapp, who serves as chairman of the American Conservative Union. The organization hosts CPAC, or Conservative Political Action Conference.

Schlapp was accused of sexual assault in 2023, but the lawsuit was dropped after an insurance company paid a $480,000 settlement to plaintiff Carlton Huffman. Schlapp asserted his innocence and argued that closure of the case equated to exoneration.

“Jeff Kahrs is exactly what Washington needs — a rock-ribbed conservative who will be relentless in pursuit of what is right for Kansas and the country,” Schlapp said. “We know Jeff will be a strong partner for President Trump and a tested advocate for the president’s America First agenda.”

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