Kris Kobach, who lost to Dennis Moore two years ago after savaging his moderate opponent in the primary (an opponent later convicted of fraud for a forged check he used to get a mortgage), will now head the Kansas Republican Party.
Kobach lost in part because his work and his campaign were linked to extremist right-wing groups, including some associated with white supremacists and the militia movement. He has sued the state of Kansas and other states, claiming that laws giving in-state tuition to any student graduating from a state's high schools (after attending for at least two years) are unfair.
The position of GOP chair is open because of Tim Shallenburger's losses in the last elections, losing a House seat, several state legislative seats, the Attorney Generalship, and a bid for the Governor's mansion. His failure is generally seen as a repudiation of his policy of pushing the Party hard to the rightward fringe of the party, beginning with his comment upon election that "When we voiced our beliefs that there is a God and said it was wrong to only teach evolution, we were ridiculed and called morons."
The selection of Krazy Kris Kobach to replace him will only move the Republican Party further to the edges of society. Until Republicans learn the lessons of the last election, they'll keep losing seats, either by losing elections, or through ever more defections of their elected officials.