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Kansas Sen. Roberts debates independent foe again

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2014 file photo taken with a fisheye lens, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts gestures to the crowd as he rides on the back of a pickup in a parade in Gardner, Kan. The veteran Kansas Senator is struggling to win re-election and turn back a strong challenge from Orman, a suburban businessman running as an independent who is capitalizing on sentiment that the 78-year-old incumbent is out of touch. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2014 file photo taken with a fisheye lens, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts gestures to the crowd as he rides on the back of a pickup in a parade in Gardner, Kan. The veteran Kansas Senator is struggling to win re-election and turn back a strong challenge from Orman, a suburban businessman running as an independent who is capitalizing on sentiment that the 78-year-old incumbent is out of touch. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

By Associated Press October 8, 2014 1 min read

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts hopes to use a debate to dampen some of the voter fervor for independent challenger Greg Orman, whose strong candidacy is threatening to end Roberts’ 34-year congressional career.

The two will square off later Wednesday in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. It will be their second joint appearance since Democrat Chad Taylor withdrew from the race, leaving Orman as Roberts’ clear main rival.

Polls show Orman with an edge, suggesting Roberts needs to squeeze Kansas’ rural counties while chipping away at the Olathe businessman’s support in the more populous east.

Roberts has tried to paint Orman as a Democrat in disguise, while Orman casts Roberts as a partisan Republican unwilling to compromise.