LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas took his conservative re-election message into the state’s swing-voting east Saturday in his latest effort chip away any advantage from independent candidate Greg Orman in a U.S. Senate race that has unexpectedly become one of the most hotly contested in the nation.
Roberts strolled the grassy hill to the south of Memorial Stadium before the University of Kansas football game, popping in and out of pregame party tents and chatting with voters in the Democratic-leaning city.
His message was distinctly partisan. With less than six weeks to go and facing a political newcomer who has tried to cast himself as non-partisan, Roberts stuck to his argument that the election is a referendum on President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
“That really is the issue: whether (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid continues to be a one-man rules committee in the Senate,” Roberts told The Associated Press. “They also know Orman is a liberal Democrat and a vote for Harry Reid. That really is the issue.”
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to take the Senate majority from Democrats, and Kansas is one of about a dozen races nationally that could determine the outcome.