The furious makeover of Sen. Pat Roberts re-election team continued Friday, with Corry Bliss taking over as the new campaign manager.
Bliss recently served as campaign manager for Karen Handel, the former Georgia secretary of state who finished third in the Peach State’s May 20 Republican Senate primary.
Chris LaCivita, who consulted for Handel on that race, was dispatched to Kansas this week by the National Republican Senatorial Committee to take control of Roberts’ troubled campaign, so Bliss moving into the campaign manager’s role would appear to be a natural fit.
Bliss’ hiring was confirmed with two knowledgeable Republican sources.
Kansas is a red state that has continuously elected Republicans to the Senate since the 1930s. But Roberts, a 30-year veteran of Washington, has suffered from anemic approval numbers since winning a bruising August primary, and is facing a formidable threat from Greg Orman, a wealthy independent candidate who has the capacity to self-finance his campaign.
The weak Democrat nominee, Chad Taylor, attempted to remove his name from the ballot but was denied by Kansas’ GOP secretary of state.
Republican sources expect Roberts to recover lost ground and ultimately win re-election. But they say it will take a concerted effort on the senator’s part, adding that a new campaign team equipped to handle the rough and tumble of a competitive race is a key part of what is required.
On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that longtime Roberts advisor Leroy Towns had relinquished his role as campaign manager. Town had served in that role for Roberts for several years.
