Schmidt, Schmidt He's Our Man

Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts today endorsed State Senator Derek Schmidt for Attorney General. Schmidt is running against replacement-incumbent Stephen Six.

Six was appointed in January of 2008 by Sebelius after Democrat Paul Morrison was disgraced out of office after a sexual harassment claim was made against him by a former employee and fling.

We're optimistic that Schmidt whose name will appear two offices under Sam Brownback on the ballot - who is currently unopposed again - will be able to win on Republican turnout alone. Though he's also more than qualified and working hard to win the office. We're looking forward to bring the Attorney Generals office back to the Right side.

Schmidt Is All in for AG

Now we don't necessarily want to toot our own horn here at RWK, but we'll go ahead and do it.

State Senator Derek Schmidt apparently just needed a little encouragement to take on Steve Six in next year's Attorney General's race. And just like that, a day later Schmidt took the plunge.

And not wasting anytime taking a shot at Six. There is clearly an opening for some leadership in the Attorney General's office.

"Earlier this month, I picked up my hometown newspaper and learned that local law enforcement officers took down a meth lab only about a mile from my home in Independence. An armed fugitive was loose, perhaps somewhere in my town, perhaps somewhere in my quiet neighborhood, perhaps in a yard where my children and their friends play.

"Life's events sometimes have a way of opening our eyes to the obvious. The principal focus of my service in the Senate has been making Kansas a safer and more secure place to live, work and raise a family. This work is not done and I remain committed to it. This is where I can make the greatest difference for our state over the next four years."

So it's off to the races and Steve Six must have the sweats, being a virtually unknown around the state and it won't help having a "D" next to his name next fall.

This gets the Kansas GOP one step closer to sweeping the State next year. Now the GOP just needs to recruit a well-known and qualified person to take on Democrat Dennis McKinney, who was appointed state treasurer after Lynn Jenkins defeated Nancy Boyda in the 2nd district in 2008. We'll throw out some names for state treasurer and see if, like Schmidt, someone heeds our call.

The Nix Six Project: Contenders?

After the former Democrat Attorney General Paul Morrison's embarrassing, public affair came to light - after running on "family values" during the campaign - Queen Kathleen handpicked Stephen Six to fill out the rest of Morrison's term.

So far, Six is going unchallenged in his bid for his first elected term. Instead, some of the GOP's top candidates are deciding to run for Secretary of State after Ron Thornburgh announced he'd be stepping down. Who were the two most likely candidates to take on Six?

• Kris Kobach: Former GOP Chairman, congressional candidate, and law professor at UMKC. Kobach announced he would run for Secretary of State, setting up a primary with young, up and comer from Salina, J.R. Claeys. Kobach is known across the country as an anti-illegal immigration advocate and popular with the conservative base.
  
  
• Derek Schmidt: An attorney and having served nearly 8 years in the Kansas Senate, now as Majority Leader, Schmidt could be the likely candidate to take on and knock off Six. Schmidt's, however, has indicated he is "exploring" a bid for SOS to setup a three-way primary.
  

Six has raised some money for his bid, but nothing that can't be overcome. The reality is that Six is virtually uknown around the state and having a big fat D after his name come 2010 won't exactly be an asset. Schmidt has served well in the Kansas Senate and needs to step up to the challenge to help the GOP sweep the statewide offices in 2010. Contact Schmidt at Derek.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov and let him know we need him for Kansas' next Attorney General.

And just for the heck of it, check out Morrison's "family values" ad during his campaign. Sad.