President Donald Trump leaped into another competitive Republican governor's race on Monday, endorsing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach over incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer a day before the state's primaries.

"Kris Kobach, a strong and early supporter of mine, is running for Governor of the Great State of Kansas," Trump tweeted. "He is a fantastic guy who loves his State and our Country - he will be a GREAT Governor and has my full & total Endorsement! Strong on Crime, Border & Military. VOTE TUESDAY!"


Colyer, the former lieutenant governor, assumed the governorship earlier this year after then-Gov. Sam Brownback took a job in the Trump administration as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Both Colyer and Kobach have been working to convince Kansas Republicans of their closeness with Trump ahead of Tuesday's primaries. But Kobach, an immigration hard-liner, has forged closer ties with the Trump administration, serving as vice chair of a now-disbanded commission to investigate Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2016 election. Donald Trump Jr. had already lined up behind Kobach and did two events with him. Now, the president's late Twitter endorsement could give Kobach a boost against the sitting governor.

White House aides had long been pushing for Trump not to endorse Kobach, fearful that his nomination could make the general election more competitive and potentially threaten Republican prospects in several congressional races. (Democrats threatened to defeat the unpopular Brownback in 2014 before the governor pulled off a narrow victory.)

Officials with the Republican Governors Association also pushed for the president to hold off on an endorsement for Kobach.


It's not the first time Trump has destabilized a long-running gubernatorial primary at the last minute. In Georgia, he endorsed Secretary of State Brian Kemp over Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, surprising Republicans in both Georgia and Washington. Kemp defeated Cagle, the one-time front-runner, by a more than 2-to-1 margin in their primary runoff. But in Tennessee, Trump opted to stay out of another crowded, open governor's race, even as Vice President Mike Pence endorsed Rep. Diane Black. But Black lost the Aug. 2 primary to businessman Bill Lee — whom Trump endorsed the next day, after Lee secured the nomination.

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report.