I haven't seen much in this thread about Kobach's leadership on immigration reform.
That is an increasingly important issue, as the American people are hit harder and harder by the negative economic and environmental effects of the current de-facto "open borders" policy.
And I happen to be a moderate Republican. I haven't looked into detail at Taff's record, but I suspect I agree more with Taff than Kobach on just about every issue except immigration.
But I am a single issue voter, and immigration is that issue. (you can probably guess, I live in California) I strongly support Kobach.
What this shows is- just because Kobach is a staunch conservative doesn't mean he won't have broader voter appeal. In fact, polls consistently show that most Democrats agree with the sort of immigration proposals that Kobach advocates, not those of Taff and his ilk.
Plus, Taff has been playing the character assassination card on immigration lately- the same old broken record about Pioneer Fund and that crap. Same thing the Sierra Club Gestapo, Wall Street Journal Jackbooted Editorialists, and Congressman Chris Cannon have been trying to play.
To me, anyone who campaigns in the gutter like that deserves to lose regardless of any other consideration.
Also, I have read articles in the media that indicate that Taff is an intellectual lightweight. That's certainly not something one could say about Kobach.