OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – Three-term GOP Sen. Pat Roberts on Wednesday insisted during a contentious debate that his stronger-than-expected independent opponent is a liberal Democrat in disguise.
But Greg Orman, who has led or is running even with Roberts in typically Republican Kansas, has donated to Democrats, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as Republicans, such as former Sen. Scott Brown, federal records show. Orman has refused to say which party he would usually vote with if the unexpectedly tight race were to break his way on Election Day a month off.
Roberts warned that in all the ways that matter in Washington, “by deed, by campaign donations, (Orman) is a Democrat.”
“Who will he vote for to lead the Senate? Who will he caucus with? What committees will he serve on,” Roberts went on during the Johnson County Public Policy Council forum. Orman said later that he would consider voting for Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota or Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski for Senate leader.
Still Roberts railed, “This man is a liberal Democrat. He will say otherwise, but that’s not the case. “