Is Pat Roberts the trouble with Kansas?

Democrat Chad Taylor is withdrawing from the race against incumbent GOP Senator Pat Robertson in Kansas. Sounds like good news for Roberts, but au contraire, Taylor appears to be dropping out in deference to independent candidate Greg Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman who has been polling ahead of Roberts in a head-to-head matchup. Moreover, 70 Republican state legislators endorsed Orman over Roberts on Wednesday, before Taylor announced he was dropping out.

The Kansas City Star reports on the shakeup of the Kansas Senate race here. The Star quotes analyst Stu Rothenberg: “It’s extraordinary. It’s stunning. It’s shocking,” said Stu Rothenberg, a nationally known political analyst. Roberts “is still going to be the favorite, but the fact that those of us in Washington who look at races actually have Kansas on our radar is a significant development.”

Orman is a Democrat who is being cagey at the moment about which party he would caucus with if elected. The Star reports: “He ran for the Senate as a Democrat in 2008, but he has declined to commit to caucusing with either major party if voters send him to Washington.” But c’mon, the guy is a Democrat. Taylor has cleared the way for him. I trust that Orman’s hand will be forced on the party question before too long and that even Roberts might be able to make something of it.

I have a long worry list, but I just can’t deal further with this at this time. Pat Roberts may not be the trouble with Kansas, but he is in trouble in Kansas.

Via Michael Warren/Weekly Standard.

UPDATE: The Hill’s Alexandra Jaffe has more here, if you can stand it.

MORE: Ed Morrissey looks on the bright side in “Kansas move backfiring for Dems?”

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