Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach's reelection campaign is facing an ethics complaint over more than $10,000 in contributions that allegedly exceeded state limits. The complaint focuses on donations associated with Kansas car dealer Steve Noller and Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, as well as a later amended campaign report that reassigned some of the money to relatives of the original donors.
End Citizens United alleges Kobach accepted excessive contributions from Ruddy and Noller, according to The Kansas City Star. Kansas law allows individuals to give $4,000 for a primary and $4,000 for a general election, or $8,000 in total, the Star reported. Noller reported giving Kobach $16,656.26 in two contributions made June 28, while Ruddy reported donating $10,000 in two contributions made May 5.
The campaign later amended its report to attribute part of each donor's reported giving to a relative, according to the Star. One of Noller's two $8,328.13 donations was reclassified as coming from Virginia Noller, who is listed with a West Palm Beach address. A separate $2,000 check originally attributed to Ruddy was reclassified to Sonja Ruddy, who shares that Florida address with him; the campaign continued to attribute an $8,000 May 5 contribution to Ruddy.
Watchdog Demands State Investigation
End Citizens United is asking the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission to examine whether the amended attributions resolve or instead compound the alleged violations. In a letter from president Tiffany Muller to commission president Anne Spiess, the group said Kobach's filings appear to show either repeated campaign-finance violations or inaccurate reporting and requested an investigation.
What Kansas's contribution limit is
For the 2025-2026 election cycle, the contribution limit for statewide offices is $4,000 for each primary election and the same amount for each general election. According to the Kansas Secretary of State's 2025 Session Laws, the limit was increased from $2,000 to $4,000 for each primary election. The change permits an individual to contribute up to $8,000 across a primary and general election.
Beyond the Ruddy and Noller donations, the complaint asks regulators to examine a $2,500 contribution the campaign accepted from the law firm Cozens O'Conner during the legislative session, which End Citizens United alleges violated a ban on donations from lobbyists, political committees or corporations during that window. The group also wants the commission to investigate two $4,000 donations made on the same day by an individual and a business sharing the same address, along with what it describes as missing nonmonetary contributions in Kobach's reports and the absence of a required last-minute contribution filing.
Muted Responses on Both Sides
Kobach's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and the Ruddys did not respond through a Newsmax spokesperson, according to the Star. Noller said he could not immediately confirm whether his records matched the campaign's accounting. Kansas Public Disclosure Commission general counsel Candice Wilson said the commission does not comment on investigations or complaints until permitted by law and said her statement should not be construed as confirming or denying an active complaint.
This is not the first time Kobach's campaign finances have drawn regulatory attention. In 2011, the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission fined him $5,000 after finding he had inaccurately reported more than $75,000 in contributions and expenditures during the 2010 election. More recently, in 2022, the Federal Election Commission found that Kobach's 2020 Senate campaign had accepted an illegal in-kind corporate contribution from We Build the Wall, the border-wall fundraising group that took in more than $25 million, and had failed to report it. That finding stemmed in part from Kobach sending emails to roughly 295,000 We Build the Wall donors soliciting Senate campaign contributions, and it resulted in a $30,000 civil penalty shared between his campaign and the organization.
A Rematch With Money on the Line
Kobach, who has also run for Kansas secretary of state, governor and U.S. Senate over the course of his political career, is seeking reelection as attorney general as a Republican against Democrat Chris Mann, an attorney from Lawrence. The two faced off once before, with Kobach defeating Mann by just 1.6% in their 2022 matchup, according to the Star's reporting.
Mann's campaign has seized on the new complaint. Spokesperson Leah Rymer said Kobach has no excuse for not knowing or following campaign-finance rules. The rematch is also shaping up to be a financial mismatch this time around, with Mann having raised nearly $600,000 more than Kobach since January.
