Roberts’s former primary challenger knocks Kansas GOP for attacks on Roberts’s opponent
Sen. Pat Roberts’s (R-Kan.) former primary opponent weighed in on Roberts’s reelection fight Tuesday, calling for the Kansas Republican Party to “stop the personal attacks.”
{mosads}“I urge the @KansasGOP to stop the personal attacks immediately. Enough is enough. Instead, campaign on positive solutions,” radiologist Milton Wolf tweeted.
Since losing to Roberts in the August primary by about seven points, Wolf has stayed largely silent on the race, notably refusing to endorse the incumbent. Conservatives in the state say the primary fight opened up a deep rift within the party that Roberts hasn’t yet managed to mend and that this could hurt him in the general election.
The four tweets Wolf sent prior to that knocked Republicans for previously using personal attacks against Democrats, to little effect, pointing to the 1992 and 2008 presidential races as examples.
“Politics of personal destruction wastes precious time better spent explaining why freedom is moral, compassionate and engenders prosperity,” Wolf tweeted.
“Even if personal attacks do eke out a win in the short run, without a mandate for positive solutions, we all lose in the long run,” he added.
It’s unclear exactly what attacks Wolf is referencing, but the Roberts campaign has in recent weeks hammered his main challenger, independent Greg Orman, for ties to a jailed Wall Street investor, suggesting the relationship is evidence of his dishonesty.
“There’s not a single thing that Greg Orman is honest about: his political views, which party he’ll caucus with, his business background,” Roberts campaign manager Corry Bliss told The Hill Tuesday.
It’s part of a tactic to paint Orman as a shady businessman and a closet Democrat, in an effort to keep the seat for Republicans. Polling has revealed Roberts to be surprisingly vulnerable to Orman, trailing him from 6 to 10 points in a few polls.
With Democrat Chad Taylor out of the race, Orman’s path to a win in November has become clearer — and there’s a chance control of the Senate could come down to Kansas, at which point Republicans are fearful Orman would secure it for Democrats. He has not yet indicated which party he’d caucus with if he’s the deciding vote for control.
But Roberts is bringing in a series of Republican stars to help boost his candidacy. This week, former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) visited the state to stump for him and cut an ad for the incumbent. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will also hit the state this week, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) — typically known for making game-changing endorsements for conservative primary challengers — will stump for him on Thursday.
Potential Republican presidential contenders Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor; Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) all have plans to stump for him as well.