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Video: Kansas Democrat Chad Taylor Withdraws From Senate Race

Kansas Democrat Chad Taylors decision to end his campaign against Sen. Pat Roberts (R., Kan.) threw a monkey wrench into the Senate map. Suddenly, a safe GOP Senate seat is perceived as vulnerable, with Mr. Roberts facing political independent Greg Orman, a millionaire who has been campaigning with a pox-on-both-political parties message, instead of a splintered field that could divide the anti-incumbent vote.

Heres a look at the questions surrounding the Kansas Senate race as it stands now:

Who is Greg Orman? Hes a wealthy businessman from the Kansas City suburbs who made millions from a lighting company. He briefly campaigned as a Democrat against Mr. Roberts in 2008, though he terminated his campaign before the primary. He has the ability to self-fund but so far has tapped only $46,749 from his personal cash to the campaign, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Does he really have a chance to defeat Mr. Roberts? Hard to say. The Rothenberg Political Report declared Mr. Roberts the most vulnerable Republican senator in the country, though thats a relatively low bar given that the only incumbent Republican with an even remotely competitive race is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.

Theres been scant polling since Mr. Roberts survived his primary, winning 48% of the vote. Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling found Mr. Orman led Mr. Roberts by 10 percentage points in a two-way race.

Was this orchestrated by Washington Democrats? Democratic leaders in D.C., like Mr. Orman, insisted the Mr. Taylors departure was a surprise to them. But the Washington Post reported that Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) spoke with Mr. Taylor in recent days about dropping out of the race to boost Mr. Orman. The Kansas GOP smells a rat.

Can an independent really win a Senate race?Its much easier when theres not a real threat from one of the major parties. Maine voters in 2012 sent independentAngus King to the Senate after national Democrats ignored their partys candidate. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is technically an independent, though that is because he is more liberally aligned than most Democrats. Both Mr. King and Mr. Sanders caucus with Senate Democrats Mr. Orman said hed side with whichever party has a clear majority. In the event of a tie hes said hed seek the best deal for Kansas, and presumably himself.

What was Mr. Ormans reaction been to Mr. Taylor dropping out? Radio silence so far. Mr. Ormans issued a brief milquetoast statement Wednesday afternoon calling Mr. Taylors withdrawal certainly an unexpected turn of events. He didnt conduct any other interviews and the campaign has been quiet on social media. He has built his campaign brand around the idea of his being an independent but to win Mr. Orman must win support from base Democrats, so it will be worth watching how he moderates that message.

How are Kansas Republicans taking the news? Theyre unhappy and trying to stop it. The Roberts campaign called Mr. Taylors withdrawal a corrupt bargain and the state party on Thursday suggested that Mr. Taylor cannot drop out of the race without proving that he would be incapable of holding office.

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With Democrat Out, Kansas Senate Race Is Suddenly Interesting

Democrat Double Standards - Take It Back ...
Biden Takes Back #39;Take Back America #39; http://freebeacon.com/culture/biden-takes-back-take-back-america/ A guest suggested that when Tea Party activists said they wanted to "take back" their...

By: BoogieFinger

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Democrat Double Standards - Take It Back ... - Video

In a move that will shake up the Alaska governor's race, the Democrat running for the Last Frontier's highest office is poised to suspend his own campaign and join forces with the independent candidate in a unity ticket.

Democrat Byron Mallott, in an interview Tuesday, said he and independent Bill Walker would announce shortly that Walker would seek the governor's office,retaining his unaffiliated banner, and Mallott would seek the post oflieutenant governor and keep his party designation.

The new configuration puts Walker in a head-to-head contest against the Republican incumbent, Gov. Sean Parnell.

"There's been a lot of speculation over the course of several weeks that in a three-way race there's no way for a Walker candidacy or my candidacy to prevail," Mallott told the Los Angeles Times. "We will merge our campaigns and move forward as a unified Alaskan ticket. This is unprecedented."

Parnell spokesman Luke Miller, in a statement to The Times, offered congratulations to Bill Walker and Byron Mallott for confirming what Alaskans already knew: they are two peas in a Democrat pod."

"Bill Walker is really a Democrat, and he and Byron can now advocate freely for [President] Obamas policies in Alaska," Miller said. "Whether expanding Obamacare, raising taxes or growing government, Bill and Byron have confirmed they are part of Alaska's Team Obama."

Although the Alaska primaries were held on Aug. 19, Tuesday is the deadline for changes to the Nov. 4 ballot, Mallott said. In order for the Democrat to suspend his campaign, the party state central committee had to vote in favor of such a switch. Late Monday its members did just that, on a 89-2 vote.

"We have a competitive governor's race," Democratic Party spokesman Zack Fields told The Times. "The party endorsed their partnership."

Fields said central committee members had "raised many concerns about Parnell's record, whether it's billion-dollar deficits, cuts to public education, or a cavalier disregard for Alaska's best interests."

In addition to the central committee vote, the Democratic and independent candidates for lieutenant governor had to agree to drop out, which Mallott said they did. Hollis French was running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat and Craig Fleener as an unaffiliated candidate.

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Democrat abandons Alaska governor's race and joins a 'unity ticket'

Katie McGinty, the head of a committee supporting Wolf, stopped in York County Tuesday

By Ed Mahon

emahon@ydr.com @edmahonreporter on Twitter

Katie McGinty, the head of a committee supporting Democrat Tom Wolf for governor, stopped in York County Tuesday and criticized Gov. Tom Corbett on education, including his support of former state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis.

Here's a look at what happened.

WHAT SHE SAID >> McGinty said education cuts under Corbett have led to bigger class sizes, cuts for music and art classes, higher property taxes, and tens of thousands of teachers losing their jobs. She called for an extraction tax on natural gas drilling to fund education.

"This is an administration now that has done a terrible job for our kids and homeowners," McGinty said.

THE SETTING >> A sidewalk near Central York Middle School.

WHO ELSE WAS THERE >> State Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York, and Democrat Linda Small of New Freedom. Small is challenging state Sen. Scott Wagner, R-Spring Garden Township, in November.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH RON TOMALIS? >> McGinty on Tuesday called him "a ghost employee."

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Democrat Katie McGinty criticizes Corbett on education funding

POLL: Democrat Mark Schauer takes lead over Rick Snyder in toss-up race for Michigan governor
POLL: Democrat Mark Schauer takes lead over Rick Snyder in toss-up race for Michigan governor.

By: WXYZ-TV Detroit / Channel 7

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POLL: Democrat Mark Schauer takes lead over Rick Snyder in toss-up race for Michigan governor - Video