Alva Review-Courier -

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — At a parade this summer, candidate for governor Kris Kobach rode a jeep with a replica machine gun mounted on it. When some people complained the stunt scared children, Kobach, Kansas' secretary of state, mockingly called the reaction a "snowflake meltdown."

And he kept on riding the vehicle in other parades, posting photos on social media regularly.

Secretaries of state from middle America aren't generally household names. Kobach is the exception.

The 52-year-old Republican has a take-no-prisoners style of conservatism that delights hard-right members of the GOP but makes...