Kansas Sen. Kay O’Connor’s campaign to become secretary of state hasn’t gotten off to a great start.

The Olathe Republican was fined $3,000 Thursday by the state’s ethics commission for soliciting campaign contributions from lobbyists during the legislative session. O’Connor says the letter she sent to 150 people, including 17 lobbyists, in April was only to gauge support for the campaign she was considering for the secretary of state’s office.

Although O’Connor said the letter wasn’t an attempt to raise money for her campaign, ethics commission members said the letter included a pledge sheet and told recipients that checks could be sent to her Senate campaign fund.

“I still maintain I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said. “It may be politically expedient to pay the fine and move on.”

Moving on may be the best strategy, but it’s hard to imagine this case won’t damage O’Connor’s campaign. Voters have a right to expect someone seeking to become the state’s top elections officer to fully understand and comply with state laws related to elections and campaigning.

Incumbent Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh may not have been particularly worried about O’Connor’s challenge in the Republican primary, but any concerns he had surely have been diminished by the ethics commission ruling.