Bongino almost defeated a Democrat incumbent in a strongly Democrat district.
Kobach lost the Kansas governor race. Trump carried Kansas by over 20 points.
You cannot compare Kobach to Bongino. Roy Moore is a better comparison.
Every Republican Governor in KS is succeeded by a Demonrat in every election since 1964. If Kobach had won, he’d have broken a 54-year precedent. He knew it was uphill and ran anyway, despite those negative odds and the serious baggage of ex-Gov. Sam Brownback had on the GOP. People that paint him as a loser fail to cite this above fact.