Kansas elections board upholds Roberts’s candidacy

A state elections board dismissed objections to Sen. Pat Roberts’s (R-Kans.) candidacy filed by eight residents based on the assertion that his actual state of residence is Virginia, according to The Associated Press.

{mosads}The Monday decision from the State Objections Board means Roberts will maintain his spot on the ballot in the Aug. 5 primary, and will give him a strong argument to refute attacks from his GOP primary challenger, radiologist Milton Wolf, focused on his residency.

Wolf has pushed questions about his residency for months, following a New York Times report revealing that the senator owns a home in Alexandria, Va., but rents a room from donors back in Kansas when he returns to the state, and is registered to vote at their address.

Similar residency issues have dogged GOP senators before, and last cycle, contributed to former Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar’s (R) defeat in a GOP primary.

Wolf’s campaign pointed out that the board is comprised of Kansas Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and secretary of State Kris Kobach, all of whom have endorsed Roberts for Senate.

“It’s disappointing that the board didn’t reach the same conclusion that tens of thousands of ordinary Kansans already have. Pat Roberts has been in Washington for 47 years, and he doesn’t live in Kansas. No other citizen would be allowed the special privilege that Pat Roberts has been granted today,” said Wolf spokesman Ben Hartman in a release.

—This piece was updated at 3:45 to reflect comment from Wolf’s campaign.