KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republicans on Saturday renewed claims that an independent Kansas Senate candidate is a liberal masquerading as a conservative after former President Bill Clinton brought up the race while talking about Democratic efforts to hold onto Congress.
When Clinton was asked Friday on “PBS NewsHour” to predict the prospects of Democrats, he mentioned races in several states, noting that, “We’re now competitive in Kansas.”
The Kansas Senate race shifted dramatically this month when Democratic candidate Chad Taylor - with a nudge from Democrats in Washington - abruptly quit campaigning. The move appeared designed to bolster independent candidate Greg Orman’s campaign against Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.
The GOP needs a net gain of six seats in the November midterm elections to win control of the Senate, and Kansas is not a state Republicans were expecting to have to defend. Clinton didn’t mention Orman by name in the interview, but Roberts’ campaign described his comment as an endorsement in a news release Saturday.
Roberts’ campaign manager, Corry Bliss, said in a written statement that Orman would “say and do anything to get elected, even if it means pretending he’s not a Democrat.”
Orman is projecting himself as fresh and authentic while acknowledging that he’s been both a Republican and a Democrat. His spokesman, Sam Edelen, said calling Clinton’s comment an endorsement was a “gaffe” by Roberts and added that “Kansas voters are now seeing that after 47 years in Washington his campaign will say and do anything to get him re-elected.”
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