WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts called independent candidate Greg Orman’s position supporting abortion rights “unconscionable” during their last debate Wednesday and suggested that helping fellow Republicans recapture a Senate majority was the top issue in their race.
Orman countered by saying he trusts women to make decisions about their reproductive health care and accused the three-term GOP incumbent of spreading “falsehoods” about him in his campaign as a centrist. Orman said that if voters believe Washington is working well, “I’m not your guy.”
Republicans have won every U.S. Senate race in the state since 1932, but the race has received national attention since Democrat Chad Taylor dropped out last month, making Roberts more vulnerable and jeopardizing the GOP’s drive to win a Senate majority.
Roberts continued his attempts to unify the party by portraying Orman as a close ally of President Barack Obama and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both Democrats.
“What this boils down to is: A vote for Pat Roberts is a vote for a Republican majority in the Senate,” Roberts said in his opening statement. “The No. 1 thing is to get a Republican majority in the United States Senate to end the gridlock and stop the Obama-Reid agenda.”
Orman responded that Roberts’ campaign is “making up facts” in tying him to Obama and Reid and said “numerous Republicans” have endorsed his campaign.
“I think we need to look past those falsehoods and pay attention to what the truth is,” Orman said.
The two candidates sparred on numerous issues, including immigration and the economy, but one of their sharpest exchanges came over abortion.
Orman supports abortion rights, while Roberts is a strong abortion opponent.
Orman noted the decades of debate over abortion and said, “It prevents us from talking about other important issues, and what I’d like to see us do is start focusing on some of the big problems that we absolutely need to get our arms around if we’re going to preserve the American dream and our financial futures.”
Roberts took issue with Orman’s remarks. “Get past the rights of the unborn?” Roberts said.
Later, he told Orman, “I think that’s unconscionable, Greg, I really do.”
In reply, Orman acknowledged abortion is an important issue. “I just think we’ve spent a lot of time as a country debating it, and it’s time to start debating other important issues as well,” he said.
The two candidates had their third joint appearance in the studio at Wichita station KSN.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to regain control of the Senate, and it has always counted on the 78-year-old Roberts winning re-election in his GOP-leaning state. Orman is a wealthy 45-year-old Olathe businessman and co-founder of a private equity firm who touts his business experience.
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AP political writer John Hanna in Topeka contributed to this report.
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Online:
Pat Roberts campaign: http://www.robertsforsenate.com
Greg Orman campaign: http://www.ormanforsenate.com/