Kansas Senate an awkward problem for national Republicans

TOPEKA, Kan. — Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and his home-state colleague, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, were in good spirits at the Shawnee County Pachyderm Club Thursday evening, when a question from the press made things awkward. 

“Sen. Roberts, would you like to see the NRSC put some money into this state?” a reporter asked.

{mosads}Roberts paused uncertainly while Moran, the junior senator from Kansas, stood at his side.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who’s rallying conservatives in Kansas this week, stepped in to save Roberts by pulling about $2 in change out of his pocket and handing it to his colleague.

Jokes aside, the surprisingly close race in Kansas, one of the most conservative states in the nation, is an uncomfortable subject for the national GOP. 

The Senate Republican campaign arm — aiming to win Senate control by knocking off vulnerable red state Democrats — announced over the summer that it would focus on offense and not spend any of its funds to protect incumbents.

But a bruising primary battered Roberts, and his general election campaign was made more difficult by lingering residency issues and staggering campaign. His troubles were magnified when the Democratic nominee dropped out. Now, it’s a difficult decision for Moran to stick with, as the three-term incumbent is running neck and neck with independent Greg Orman. 

Moran, who has served with Roberts during his entire career in Congress, acknowledged the conflict he felt, when another reporter asked him about his personal feelings on the race. 

“I care about lots of races across the country — how am I supposed to answer this question in front of him?” Moran said. “From a Senate campaign committee perspective, we care about all of them.

“As a person, as an individual, I’ve known this Pat Roberts; we’ve worked side by side. From a personal point of view, this is very important to me,” he added.

 Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), the NRSC’s vice chairman for finance, told reporters last month that incumbents, such as Roberts and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), should not expect any funding from the party committee this fall. 

“I’m hopeful we won’t have to expend NRSC resources in those red states … where Mitt Romney won handily and where we have good candidates, and I believe we’ll be fine,” he said. “I don’t think any Republican seats are in great danger. I think, in fact, Pat Roberts is doing fine. I think Mitch McConnell is doing well in Kentucky.”

McConnell says he doesn’t want any money from the Senate party committee, but he has already been helped by two allied outside groups. Kentuckians for Strong Leadership and the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, together have spent about $20 million to defend him.

Meanwhile, outside groups have spent under $1 million, by one estimate, to defend Roberts, who faces a wealthy independent challenger. Orman’s net worth is estimated between $21.5 million and $86 million.

Recent polls show Roberts is in trouble. An NBC-Marist survey released Sunday showed him with a 37-percent approval rating and trailing Orman by 10 points.

The embattled incumbent got some better news later in the week, when a CNN-ORC poll showed him leading by 1 percentage point, and a Fox News survey put him up by 5 points. 

Moran backtracked from Portman’s statement Thursday.

“I saw where Sen. Portman said that, and I don’t mean to dispute what he said, but I never knew that decision. I am the person who decides that, so I don’t know that that decision had ever been made,” the NRSC chairman said. 

“This state will be considered as we look at all states on how we spend money,” he later added.

Party leaders were caught by surprise, when Kansas emerged as one of the tightest races, something that appeared to surprise Roberts as well. 

He had his general-election campaign on cruise control after his tough primary win against Milton Wolf. The Washington Examiner reported his campaign headquarters didn’t have its own Internet service. He has since replaced his campaign manager. 

Moran on Thursday said incumbents across the country are facing tough races because of voters’ disillusionment with Washington, which has made turn out a challenge for both parties. 

As leader of the GOP’s campaign efforts, Moran has less money to work with than his Democratic counterpart. His committee has raised more than $97 million through the end of September. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $111 million through August.

In the absence of independent TV expenditures by the NRSC, Roberts hit the phones hard in the past month raising money from K Street and other DC sources.  

Former Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), who’s now a lobbyist with Greenberg Traurig, said he couldn’t understand why the party would not step in to defend Roberts.

“It would be a big mistake if they don’t get in, because Pat’s a winner,” he told The Hill earlier in the week.

Roberts suggested Thursday that the NRSC has already spent money to help him. 

When asked if the committee should spend money in his race, Roberts finally said, “I think that’s already been done,” but declined to elaborate.

“The cavalry came over the hill, alright?” he said.

But Moran said he was not sure what Roberts was referring to.

“Uh no, he said that to me before, about Moran’s the cavalry. I don’t know. I’m the cavalry, whatever that means,” he said.

The NRSC did help Roberts notch his August primary win, sending staff for the final weeks and making a direct $45,400 contribution to the senator’s campaign. They also hosted a D.C. fundraiser for Roberts that netted $65,000. 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the NRSC’s vice chairman of grassroots outreach, participated at a rally for Roberts in Wichita earlier in the day. Coburn also spoke at the event.

And the party committee dispatched Chris LaCivita, a seasoned strategist, to help Roberts in September.