Counting error costs Kansas gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach half his GOP primary lead

Kris Kobach.
(Image credit: Steve Pope/Getty Images)

Kansas' gubernatorial primary is looking worse for Kris Kobach, President Trump's preferred candidate.

Kobach, one of the many Republicans narrowly vying for Kansas' GOP nomination, just lost half his lead over closest opponent, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, WIBW reports. In the thoroughly Republican state, whoever wins the GOP primary will likely win the governor's seat.

A counting error discovered Thursday added 100 votes to Colyer's total in Kansas' Thompson County. The number seems negligible, but Kobach only secured 191 more votes than Colyer in Tuesday's primary. The Kansas Secretary of State website will be updated Friday morning with the change, as well as with any mail-in votes that trickle in, officials tell WIBW.

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Kobach earned Trump's endorsement — reportedly against White House advisers' urging — in advance of Tuesday's primary. As Kansas' current secretary of state, Kobach oversees elections and was once held in contempt of court because he wouldn't tell Kansans if they were registered to vote in 2016. A hypothetical recount in this gubernatorial primary would also fall under Kobach's authority, and he's so far declined to recuse himself from running it.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.