AUGUSTA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts stoked the political brushfire he was hoping to smother during a recent Kansas City-area radio morning show.
“Every time I get an opponent – uh, I mean, every time I get a chance – I’m home,” Roberts said during the KCMO interview.
That’s just Milton Wolf’s point. The tea party-backed challenger for the GOP nomination has been casting the third-term senator as a Washington politician who has lost touch with his constituents. The charge is a potent one already in the 2014 midterm elections: It was a key factor in the ouster last month of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. The accusation nearly cost veteran Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran the GOP nomination, and remains a challenge for him.
Wolf rests much of his case on Roberts’ living arrangements. The senator owns a Washington-area home while his official residence in Dodge City is rented space in a home owned by two supporters. Not so long ago, Roberts joked about having full access to a recliner there.
It’s no laughing matter now. The “residency issue” has given some GOP voters pause, even if they believe Roberts has represented the state well during a 47-year career in politics.