Who Is Kris Kobach? Kansas Attorney General

Kris Kobach serves as the attorney general of Kansas.

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Kobach previously served as Kansas secretary of state and worked in the George W. Bush administration before winning election as Kansas attorney general in 2022.

Where Kris Kobach Is Now

Kris Kobach currently serves as the attorney general of Kansas, taking legal action against artificial intelligence companies.

• Current role: Attorney General of Kansas
• Organization: State of Kansas
• Known for: Suing OpenAI alleging deception over ChatGPT safety
• Recent news: Announced planned litigation against OpenAI alongside other state attorneys general at the Iowa State Capitol

Career and Background

Kobach earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a Ph.D. from Oxford, and a law degree from Yale, according to Lawrence Journal-World. In the George W. Bush administration, he worked on designing a post-9/11 national security system supervising male visitors from Muslim-majority countries. From 2007 to 2009, Kobach served as chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.

Kobach won election as Kansas secretary of state in 2010 by more than 20 percent and served in the role prior to being elected attorney general in 2022, as reported by Lawrence Journal-World. While secretary of state, he authored a law requiring Kansas residents to prove their citizenship in order to register to vote. President Donald Trump appointed Kobach to his voter fraud commission. In 2018, Kobach ran for governor of Kansas with Trump's endorsement and lost the general election to Laura Kelly by four percentage points. In 2020, he ran for the U.S. Senate and was defeated in the Republican primary.

In 2022, Kobach won the Kansas attorney general election against Chris Mann by 15,800 votes, or about 1.6 percentage points, following a one-hour debate sponsored by the Johnson County Bar Association in Overland Park.

Litigation Against OpenAI

Kobach announced a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging the company deceived Kansans about the safety of ChatGPT, reporting that the generative artificial intelligence company has deceived citizens, according to KAKE.

Kobach held a news conference on October 14, 2026, at the Iowa State Capitol alongside other state attorneys general regarding litigation against OpenAI, as reported by High Plains Public Radio. Bird was joined by attorneys general Kris Kobach of Kansas, Mike Hilgers of Nebraska, JB McCuskey of West Virginia, and Tim Griffin of Arkansas. Kobach stated that each state in the action against OpenAI is filing its own complaint in state court rather than serving as co-plaintiffs in a single lawsuit, as reported by The Gazette.

Kobach stated that states rarely come together to publicly announce a lawsuit unless it is exceptionally important. He stated that ChatGPT is trained to gain the trust of users, creating particular danger for young users, according to WIBW.

Views on Federal Inaction and AI Regulation

Kobach stated that state attorneys general have the authority to move swiftly to safeguard consumers, reporting that OpenAI has caused significant harm to citizens while Congress has deliberated about AI for more than a year, according to KAKE.

Kobach stated that waiting for Congress to enact a universal solution covering the country regarding AI is foolish, as detailed by The Gazette. He noted that over 150 bills on AI have been submitted in Congress without the vast majority receiving a committee vote, and stated that many members of Congress appear unwilling to place significant restraints on corporations engaged in AI, according to High Plains Public Radio.

Legal and Policy Positions

Kobach stated that he is among only two state attorneys general in the United States who personally argue cases in court, and reported that he has argued nine cases in state or federal court and won seven of them, according to Lawrence Journal-World.

Kobach stated that his top priority for a second term as attorney general would be continuing an effort to combat fentanyl abuse. He also stated that he is committed to persuading more cities and counties to enter agreements with federal agencies to enforce immigration law, that government retention of information on motorists without probable cause should be considered a constitutional infringement, and that he would sue the Trump administration again if they took actions violating the Constitution. Additionally, Kobach recommended that Kansas reduce reliance on lethal injection drugs for executions and instead use gas to suffocate condemned individuals.

Sources

• hppr.org
• kake.com
• register-herald.com
• thegazette.com
• wibw.com
• www2.ljworld.com
• www2.ljworld.com

More people pushing back on AI are mapped in our guide to who is fighting AI, and the unions, companies and governments drawing the line are tracked on Fighting Back.