Orman emerges as X factor in Kansas Senate race
Since winning a hard-fought primary against a tea party challenger, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) seemed to rest on his laurels failing to run any television advertising for the past month and returning to his home in Northern Virginia to recuperate after his victory.
Now Roberts, 78, is the focus of an urgent political rescue operation led by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is deploying a veteran strategist and others to try to bolster his foundering campaign with less than nine weeks until the November election.
The moves come in response to the sudden rise of Greg Orman, a well-funded independent candidate, as a serious threat to Roberts after Democratic nominee Chad Taylor said he was exiting the race. Adding to the tumult, Roberts executive campaign manager, Leroy Towns, has left his position, Republicans familiar with the move said Thursday.
GOP leaders fear that if deeply conservative Kansas becomes competitive, it could force the party to alter its strategy in pursuit of the six seats it needs for a Senate majority. The race also comes at a time of unrest among the states Republicans, who have divided into warring camps over the conservative policies implemented by Gov. Sam Brownback (R).
The stakes are incredibly high right now in every close race in the country, and you need your A team on the field in every race,said Brian Walsh, a former NRSC official. With a little over eight weeks to go until the election, neither side can afford a misstep, especially in a state as Republican as Kansas.
The NRSC is sending longtime operative Chris LaCivita and others to help Roberts, who will also be aided by Gary Maloney, an opposition researcher who was close to former George H.W. Bush strategist Lee Atwater.
People close to the campaign, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said concerns about Robertss operation have been growing for weeks and that talks began in late August about bringing in help. LaCivita was initially contacted last week, these people said.
At the center of the rapidly shifting race is Orman, 45, a former Democrat and Republican who wont say which party he would caucus with if elected. Orman briefly flirted with a run against Roberts as a Democrat the last time he was up for reelection. Republicans have accused Democrats of meddling to remove Taylor in hopes that Orman will win and join them. Taylor formally filed a letter with the state of Kansas late Wednesday requesting his removal from the ballot.
The contest was thrown for another twist on Thursday when Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) announced that Taylors name must remain on the ballot because he had not provided notice that he is incapable of serving, as required by state law.
Kobach said in an interview that he and his attorneys had spent most of Thursday morning meeting with the Kansas attorney general and his chief deputy to discuss the legalities of the case. Kobach, who sits on Robertss honorary campaign committee, insisted he was not playing politics.