Former Massachusetts Gov. and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is heading to Kansas next week to boost the re-election campaign of GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, according to the Roberts campaign.
“Pat Roberts is a conservative champion for Kansas, and we need him in the Senate,” Mr. Romney said. “But take it from me, this election is about a lot more than Pat Roberts. This is about Republicans taking control of the Senate and stopping the Obama-Reid agenda that is destroying this country.”
Mr. Roberts, who survived a primary challenge from the tea party-backed Milton Wolf, is fighting for his political life against independent Greg Orman. The two men are tied at 46 percent among likely voters in a new Monmouth University poll.
The polling indicates that not all Republicans have come home to Mr. Roberts yet. Seventy-six percent of Republicans say they’re supporting Mr. Roberts, while 14 percent say they’re backing Mr. Orman. The longtime incumbent has brought in other major GOP figures, such as former Gov. Sarah Palin and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, to rev up voters in the state.
Mr. Orman, meanwhile, has 84 percent of the Democratic vote compared to 14 percent for Mr. Roberts, and leads 60 percent to 32 percent among independents. The poll of 429 likely voters was taken Oct. 16-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
Democrat Chad Taylor successfully got his name off the fall ballot earlier this year following a court challenge, paving the way for Mr. Orman to compete head-to-head with Mr. Roberts and possibly complicate the GOP’s bid to pick up a net of six U.S. Senate seats and re-take control of the chamber.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.