Independent Senate candidate Greg Orman of Kansas has picked up a key endorsement, with the Kansas City Star’s editorial board giving him the nod over Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in a tight race.
The paper on Saturday called Orman, a businessman, “thoughtful and well-versed on crucial issues” who “has the needed background to work with other senators to handle the huge budgetary problems roiling Congress right now.”
The Star also said Orman “comprehends the political decisions that must be made to break the destructive gridlock that has made Washington a laughingstock.”
“Kansans deserve a senator who won’t evaluate issues strictly on a hyper-partisan basis — as Roberts and too many members of both parties tend to do these days,” the editorial said.
Orman has been mum on which party he would caucus with if elected, though Roberts has claimed he would be in lockstep with Democrats — a claim the Star disagrees with.
“Orman doesn’t like the Affordable Care Act, doesn’t support amnesty for undocumented immigrants and supports the Second Amendment,” the paper said. “But he’s also practical in realizing the healthcare law isn’t going to be ‘repealed and replaced.’”
The paper said Roberts has allowed problems to “fester” in Washington, calling him a “shrill, unproductive politician who has badly fumbled his chance to be a real leader for Kansas’ priorities.”
The newspaper’s editorial department endorsed President Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
Despite Kansas leaning heavily Republican in recent elections, Orman led in polling by up to 10 percentage points as recently as August. But Roberts has surged as late, with Fox News and CNN giving the incumbent narrow leads in polls released this week.
Chad Taylor, the Democratic nominee for the Kansas Senate race, dropped out last month, leaving Orman the sole challenger to Roberts.
