Kansas Republican takes aim at supposed foreign donors, plans to prosecute as secretary of state

TOPEKA — Republican Pat Proctor suggested without evidence that foreign donors contributed to the tens of millions of dollars in cash that helped Democrats win last week, and promised to embrace his power to prosecute if he becomes the state’s top elections official.

Proctor is about 8,000 votes ahead of his opponent, Democrat Jennifer Day, in the race for secretary of state. Under state law, the race requires an audit of 10% of precincts in every county, which means those ballots are being hand-counted by election workers and volunteers.

Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, Democrat Chris Mann defeated Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach and Democrat Cindy Holscher leads Republican Ty Masterson by about 7,600 votes in the governor’s race. Republicans won other statewide races: Treasurer Steve Johnson cruised to reelection while Dan Hawkins won the insurance commissioner’s race by about 17,000 votes.

“My race, Dan Hawkins’ race should not even have been close,” Proctor said on the Woodward and Whit radio show on KNSS. “This governor’s race should not even have been close. But when you dump $100 million into a state of 3 million people, you know it’s going to have an impact.”

He said TV advertisements were “wall to wall ‘Roger Marshall was a bad man.’ ”

“It was all these dark money nonprofits, a lot of them foreign funded,” Proctor said. “After we had a foreign funding ban, they still figured out a way to launder the money and get it into this election. So we’ve got a real money problem here in the state of Kansas and in the nation.”

He didn’t provide examples of nonprofits receiving foreign funds and donating to a candidate.

Nonprofit money poured into both Hamilton and Marshall’s campaigns for the U.S. Senate. The Senate Leadership Fund spent at least $11 million for Marshall in Kansas. The Kansas-based super PAC People over Politics Action Fund spent about the same for Hamilton.

In all, outside spending against Marshall was about $46.4 million, while outside spending against Hamilton was about $32.7 million, according to Paid for Politics, which examines campaign finance reports.

Federal election law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to or interfering in elections and defines what actions aren’t allowed.

The Federal Election Commission defines a foreign national as an individual who isn’t a U.S. citizen and who isn’t lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Immigrants who hold a green card, though, can donate.

The FEC also stipulates that a foreign principal, which includes larger organizations such as foreign governments, corporations or “other combination of persons organized under the laws of a foreign country or whose principal place of business is in a foreign country,” can’t donate.

Proctor also told radio hosts Ted Woodward and John Whitmer that he plans to take back some of the authority that hasn’t been used recently in the Secretary of State’s Office, including the ability to investigate and prosecute election crimes. Kobach handled those duties as attorney general, but Proctor said he would “rebuild that capability” in his office.

Proctor also said he intends to “shift the burden” of the business owner being aware of regulations they have to follow, so that the government will share information and help the business owner comply.