On July 1, 2019 NAFUSA board member Barry Grissom stepped down from the NAFUSA board and announced his campaign for the United States Senate from the State of Kansas.

In 2010, Barry was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for Kansas and was unanimously confirmed by Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate.Barry is best known for helping lead the investigation and successful prosecution of the Wichita Airport and the Fort Riley bombers – two domestic terrorists who had plotted to kill hundreds if not thousands of Americans.

Working with local sheriffs and police, he helped take 23 members of the violent Norteños gang off the streets in Dodge City, and disarmed convicted felons throughout Western Kansas.

As U.S. Attorney, Barry worked with law enforcement and civil rights advocates to improve community relations, founded Kansas’s first Human Trafficking Working Group, helped clean up gang activity, oversaw Kansas’s Project Safe Childhood program targeting child sex offenders and led the charge among federal authorities to break up a dogfighting ring responsible for capturing and abusing over 400 pit bulls.

In 2020, Kansas will elect a new U.S. Senator due to the announced retirement of current Senator Pat Roberts. The state of Kansas has only had three “open” U.S. Senate races in the past 40 years.

Barry Grissom has dedicated his entire career to fighting for those most vulnerable in our society. Inspired by Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, Barry has never lost sight of the fact that his purpose as an attorney is to use the law to ensure justice for all.

The son of a Korean War veteran, Barry grew up the oldest of three and spent his childhood moving all across the American South and Midwest because of his father’s job with the International Harvester Corporation. After his family moved to Shawnee Mission, Barry attended Johnson County Community College before graduating from the University of Kansas. To help put himself through college and law school, Barry worked odd jobs including painting houses.

After graduating from the Oklahoma City University law school, Barry came back home to Kansas to begin his career as an attorney. He founded a solo law practice focused on helping those who faced injustice – including standing up against discrimination, fighting for workers to get fair wages, and protecting those who faced the wrenching decision to declare bankruptcy after they had emptied their savings to pay their medical bills.

“It was always difficult to watch someone who had worked their whole life come into your office and drop their head in shame because they’ve had to declare bankruptcy. Not because they were wasteful, but because they had the bad luck of getting sick and needed to protect what few assets they had left. You never forget that.” – Barry Grissom

“Protecting the American people from terrorism and violent crime was our primary mission in the U.S. Attorney’s office. It was vital that we disrupt attacks against our homeland and bring terrorists to justice. I’m proud that our office kept Kansans safe.” – Barry Grissom

Barry lives in Northeast Kansas with his wife Renee. They have two children and two grandchildren.

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