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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