Had absolutely nothing to do with the candidate, huh?
Since you live in Missouri, I take it you aren't well-versed on Kansas political dynamics and don't know that there are actually 3 parties in the state
I'm well versed with Kansas since in live in the KC area and have family in Johnson County. I'm well versed enough to know that in 2018 Kobach lost the 9 most populous counties in the state by an average of 20 points. I'm well versed enough to know that the turnout in 2018 was only about 180,000 votes less than the 2016 turnout, which means the presidential election won't make that big of a difference. So I'm well versed enough to know that if you nominate Kobach for your candidate then there's a better than even chance that you next senator will be a Democrat.
It had to do with several factors, including the point I just told you about. Did you even know that no Republican candidate successfully succeeded another since 1964 as Governor ? Did you also know that until Sam Brownback was elected, there hadn't been a Conservative Republican elected Governor in just as many decades ? When one analyzes politics, as I do and have, you take into consideration all these dynamics.
"I'm well versed with Kansas since in live in the KC area and have family in Johnson County."
Congratulations.
"I'm well versed enough to know that in 2018 Kobach lost the 9 most populous counties in the state by an average of 20 points. I'm well versed enough to know that the turnout in 2018 was only about 180,000 votes less than the 2016 turnout, which means the presidential election won't make that big of a difference. So I'm well versed enough to know that if you nominate Kobach for your candidate then there's a better than even chance that you next senator will be a Democrat."
And every Republican nominee running to succeed another has lost, including every incumbent running in 1966, 1978, 1990 & 2016. Fun fact: Laura Kelly won a plurality of the vote, receiving the lowest % for a winning candidate since Alf Landon won in a 3-way race in 1932. Bet you didn't know that.
Here's another fun fact about a Republican candidate for office. This woman ran for Governor of her state in 1994, a premier year for the GOP, and placed a distant 3rd in an open race to succeed a Republican Governor. She got a paltry 23% of the vote statewide. A fiasco by any stretch. Two years later, she won the nomination for Senator and faced the Democrat who was in 2nd place for Governor in 1994 and had previously served in Congress & an earlier two-term stint as Governor. She won the Senate race even as Bob Dole lost badly in the state. That was Susan Collins. Now I'm not a fan of hers, but if you had thought a 3rd place loser in 1994 could come back in a BAD GOP year to win a Senate race, most folks would say that was impossible. Don't bet against Kobach.