Bob Dole makes Senate endorsement as GOP scrambles to block Kris Kobach

Former GOP senator and 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole, 96, endorsed Rep. Roger Marshall for Senate as the GOP establishment coalesced around the congressman following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision not to run this year.

The endorsement of Dole, 96, came a week after Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he planned to continue in President Trump’s cabinet. McConnell and his leadership deputies recruited Pompeo in a bid to block Kris Kobach from the nomination, worrying the immigration hawk was too provocative to win a general election in otherwise deep-red Kansas. With Pompeo out, the party establishment is turning to Marshall, who announced his candidacy months ago.