Kobach hasn't struggled to get out of anything. He's embraced the Brownback legacy and plans on reintroducing it to a much greater extent.
That is not wise. Sam Brownback is hugely unpopular in Kansas. Most Republicans will vote to keep Laura Kelly out of the governor's mansion but want no part of a Brownback repeat. Many Republicans I know see Kobach as a wild-eyed version of Brownback and are reluctantly voting for him. Trump's support might raise Kobach up enough to overcome the Brownback drag but it's going to be close.