TOPEKA — The Virginia-based political action committee controlled by a former U.S. secretary of state took the unusual step Wednesday of endorsing a Kansas Senate candidate for the seat serving portions of Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties.
Mike Pompeo, the nation’s top diplomat from 2018 to 2021 in the administration of President Donald Trump, said Champion American Values PAC of Springfield, Virginia, favored Republican nominee Jeff Klemp in the 5th District. Pompeo was a GOP congressman from Wichita from 2011 to 2017.
“The fight to restore American greatness begins at the state and local level,” Pompeo said. “Jeff has spent years building successful businesses and serving his community, and he is a leader who understands the challenges facing families throughout Kansas.”
Klemp, of Lansing, is attempting to win the seat held by Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat elected to the Senate in 2020 who previously served four years in the Kansas House.
Pittman said Pompeo’s preference for legislative representation of Leavenworth, Lansing, Basehor and western Wyandotte County wasn’t significant to the Senate contest.
“He’s irrelevant to Kansas, especially because he sold out and went to the D.C. swamp to serve his own interests,” Pittman said. “He doesn’t understand anything about Senate District 5.”
Pittman said the endorsement by Pompeo’s PAC suggested Klemp had grown desperate less than one week before the Tuesday election.
“I think he’s desperate because I’ve delivered for my community over and over again,” Pittman said.
Pittman has been endorsed by the Mainstream Coalition, Kansas Fraternal Order of Police, Kansas National Education Association PAC as well as the Kansas Farm Bureau PAC, Kansas Livestock Association, Game On for Kansas Schools and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce PAC.
In a statement, Klemp said Pompeo’s expression of support meant a great deal to his campaign.
“Secretary Pompeo’s dedication to our nation and his strong record of serving Kansans are truly admirable, and I’ve long respected his commitment to our shared values,” he said.