OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) – Greg Orman, the suddenly relevant independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, is walking a tightrope in his campaign against GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, projecting himself as fresh and authentic while acknowledging that he’s been both a Republican and a Democrat.
Roberts is painting the wealthy 45-year-old businessman as a “dishonest, flip-flopping liberal Democrat masquerading as an independent,” says the senator’s new campaign spokesman, Corry Bliss.
With less than two months before the election, Orman’s campaign manager, Jim Jonas, says the narrative for the campaign is simple. “Washington is broken,” Jonas told The Associated Press, “and we’ve got a guy who can go there and solve the big problems without a lot of finger-pointing.”
The race shifted dramatically last week when Democratic candidate Chad Taylor – with a nudge from Democrats in Washington – abruptly quit. The move appeared designed to bolster Orman’s campaign.
Taylor filed a petition Tuesday in the Kansas Supreme Court challenging Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s decision to leave Taylor’s name on the ballot. Having a Democrat on the ballot is seen as a way of drawing votes from Orman.