Former Lawrence police officer is first Democrat to enter Kansas Attorney General race

A Lawrence Democrat has entered the race for Kansas attorney general, giving the party its first formally declared candidate for an office that will be vacated next year by Republican Derek Schmidt, who is running for governor.

Chris Mann, a former police officer and prosecutor, said in an interview with The Star on Tuesday that he will run as a law enforcement professional who will strip politics out of the office.

Mann, 45, vowed to focus on violent crime and public safety rather than battling federal authorities — an implicit rebuke of Republicans who see the attorney general’s office as a powerful platform to fight Democratic President Joe Biden.

“I don’t really believe that the office should be that partisan,” Mann said. “I believe that those legal cases will play out in court. I’m concerned though that important things are being neglected in Kansas.”

Kristie Welder, a Kansas City, Kansas, attorney, has said publicly she is considering a run for the office but has not formally jumped in the race.

Mann’s announcement comes as the competition for the Republican nomination for the office is already well underway between former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, state Sen. Kellie Warren and former federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi.

Each candidate has pitched themselves as the best option to take on President Joe Biden’s administration and protect Kansas from federal overreach.

The attorney general’s office has been a lock for Republicans since Schmidt was first elected in 2010. Many Democrats, however see the office within reach this year, especially if Kobach wins the GOP nomination.

In 2018 Kobach, who moderates and independents viewed as too far to the right, lost his gubernatorial bid to Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly. In a poll released by the Keep Kansas Conservative PAC last week Kobach led the field by nearly 30 points with 43% of respondents preferring him compared to 15% who preferred Warren and 7% who preferred Mattivi.

“It will be a replay of the gubernatorial race two years ago where Kris Kobach was the right wing extremist favorite in the Republican primary. As a result the Republican nominee, Kris Kobach was too far to the right for the majority of Kansas voters,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat.

Carmichael said he was pleased to see Mann join the race but that he’s spoken to other Democrats who may run.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Laura Kelly’s campaign said they were “excited that a qualified candidate has entered the race who will work for Kansans and will focus on Kansas issues.”

Mann, who has never held public office, began his career as a police officer in Lawrence but earned his law degree and became a prosecutor after he was struck by a drunk driver during a routine traffic stop in 2002.

He worked in the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office and the Kansas Securities Commission before starting his own law firm representing low-income clients and drunk driving victims in civil cases in 2016.

Throughout that time he’s volunteered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving advocating for state and federal legislation.

“I’ve woken up every day now for the past 19 years in some sort of pain but it reminds me of why I’m doing what I’m doing, why I served in the courtroom, why I help with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, why I want to help victims of violent crime, why I want to keep Kansans safe and why now I want to be attorney general,” Mann said.

Mann, who is not related to U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, said he would seek to focus on the public safety aspects of the Attorney General’s office and working with local and county law enforcement agencies. One step in that direction, he said, would be filling a traffic safety resource position that has been vacant.

“Making sure that everyone has the resources that they need and that they’re backed up by the Attorney General’s office,” Mann said. “Making sure that, again, public safety is our priority.”