Kansas Republicans come out against Kris Kobach after he blames economy on poor people

Embattled Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach is facing erosion of support within his own party during his bid to be Governor of Kansas.

Kobach, who has received national attention for his debunked effort to prove his allegations of voter fraud by Democrats, has been within a single point of his Democratic Party challenger in the last four public polls.

"Republican Kris Kobach unveiled a welfare plan Wednesday that builds on restrictions made by former Gov. Sam Brownback," The Wichita Eaglereported Wednesday. "The proposal echoed previous changes that critics say kick people off of welfare but do little to get them out poverty."

“To address the very real labor shortages that we have in Kansas, we absolutely must encourage people to get off of welfare and to get into those many open jobs that are all over the state of Kansas right now,” Kobach said.

As Kobach lashed out at the poor for the state's impoverished fiscal situation, his Democratic rival continued the momentum that has made the race one of the most closely followed campaigns in the midterms.

State Sen. Laura Kelly (D-KS) on Wednesday announced an additional 23 "current and former Republican leaders" who are backing her gubernatorial bid.

“Laura Kelly is a common sense, moderate leader who will bring people together – regardless of party – to fix the issues facing our state,” said former Senate Majority Leader Fred Kerr. “She led the bipartisan coalition to end the Brownback experiment and put Kansas on the road to recovery. While Kris Kobach wants to repeat the disastrous tax experiment of the last eight years, Laura wants to move our state forward. That’s an idea we can all unite around.”

The latest list of names also includes former Republican Speaker of the House Bob Miller and six other former GOP legislators.

The "Republicans for Kelly" group has previously announced support from former Gov Bill Graves plus former U.S. senators Nancy Kassebaum and Sheila Frahm.

In total, 31 former and current Republican legislators have joined the effort, which even includes Rochelle Chronister, the former Chair of the Kansas Republican Party.

“I’m honored to have the support of these dedicated public servants,” said Kelly. “I’ve always believed that we get things done by bringing people together. That’s been my approach in the state Senate and that will be my approach as governor."

"Together, we will get our state back on track," she predicted.