Despite all the good that continues to emerge for Republicans in the battle for the U.S. Senate, the fight in Kansas over Republican Sen. Pat Roberts’ seat continues to rage with no clear path for either candidate to victory.
A couple of weeks ago the Roberts’ campaign was dealt a serious setback after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Democrat candidate Chad Taylor could have his name removed from the November ballot, thus clearing the way for a head-to-head battle between Roberts and Independent candidate Greg Orman.
Polling showed Orman ahead then and continues to show him leading Roberts’ by as much as five points. And a further development on the ballot fight has made that lead all the more critical.
This week a district court decided that a Democrat voter’s petition to force the Kansas Democrat Party to replace Chad Taylor on the ballot was invalid, reports The Hill. This further clears the way for the head-to-head match-up between Roberts and Orman on November 4th.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, opined, “Orman has gained from Democratic nominee Chad Taylor’s dropping out of the race in September, and now he’s presenting a solid challenge to longtime Senator Pat Roberts.”
The big question is whether Republican turnout on election day will be enough to push Roberts over the line to eclipse Orman’s consistent five-point lead. Some speculate as well that the depressed attitude among Democrat voters could be the edge Roberts needs to keep Orman at bay.
