Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, is seen in this May 21, 2013 photo in Washington, DC. Win McNamee, Getty Images
A key contest in the fight for control of the Senate could turn on the outcome of an arcane legal argument Monday over whether Democrats must field a candidate against struggling Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.
The case before a Topeka court centers on whether a state election law requires Democrats to pick a new candidate after ex-nominee Chad Taylor withdrew earlier this month. Some Democrats pushed Taylor out, viewing independent candidate Greg Orman as the stronger rival for Roberts and hoping to avoid a split in the anti-Roberts vote that would help the GOP incumbent stay in office.
Republicans need to gain six seats for a Senate majority, and the GOP has always counted on Roberts winning in a state that has elected only Republicans to the chamber since 1932. However, Roberts has struggled after a bruising primary and questions about his residency in Kansas.
Play Video
Greg Orman, an independent Senate candidate from Kansas, tells CBS News' Nancy Cordes how he'll decide which party to caucus with if he wins.
Orman, a 45-year-old Olathe businessman, is running as a centrist - promising to caucus with whichever party has a majority and play kingmaker if neither does.
"What I've suggested about that is if one party is in the majority in Congress, it's going to serve the voters of Kansas for me to caucus with that party in the majority," Orman told CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
The high-profile Republicans now streaming into Kansas to campaign with Roberts have charged that Orman is simply an unofficial Democrat.
"If he's independent I'm an astronaut," Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said. Along with McCain, Republicans like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Sen. Bob Dole have gone to Kansas to help the 78-year-old incumbent.
See the original post:
Will Democrats have to put a Senate candidate on the Kansas ballot?