Tiahrt endorses Schmidt for attorney general

WICHITA -- (September 2, 2010) -- Fourth District Congressman Todd Tiahrt today endorsed Derek Schmidt for Kansas attorney general.  Tiahrt, R-Goddard, released the following statement:

"When I called on our current appointed Democrat attorney general to join with other states in the legal fight against Obamacare, he declined.  Kansas needs a new attorney general who will listen to Kansans and defend our liberties, not be captive to the will of the Obama administration.  Derek Schmidt will be the strong attorney general Kansans deserve.  Derek has the broad legal experience required to lead the state's top legal agency, and he understands that the job requires an independent leader who will stand up against the Obama administration and the trial lawyers.

"As a leader in the Kansas Senate, Derek Schmidt has stood strong for public safety, for jobs and economic growth, and for the needs of Wichita and South Central Kansas.  Having known Derek for many years as one of my constituents in the fourth congressional district,  I am proud to endorse him in this campaign, and I plan to work hard to make sure he is elected attorney general for Kansas."

Schmidt, R-Independence, is the Republican nominee for attorney general.  He is a former assistant attorney general for Kansas, a city prosecutor, former special counsel to Governor Bill Graves, and former general counsel to U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel.  Schmidt began his public service as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum, R-Kansas.

Republican state senators have twice elected Schmidt their majority leader.  He is a long-time leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee and currently serves as the committee's vice chairman.  Schmidt was the chief Senate author of Jessica's Law, which puts violent sex offenders who prey on children in prison for life, and also wrote the Sheriff Matt Samuels Chemical Control Act, which reduced the number of meth labs in Kansas by about 70 percent.  Earlier this year, Schmidt wrote new legislation to combat child pornography and to increase penalties on con artists who prey on veterans and military families.