Ex-Kansas Gov. Graves endorses US Sen. Roberts
Topeka ? Former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves endorsed U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and recorded a statewide radio ad for him Wednesday, giving the three-term Republican senator public support from a prominent GOP moderate late in a tight re-election race with national implications.
Roberts’ contest with independent candidate Greg Orman is a toss-up less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election. Roberts’ campaign has brought in a string of big-name Republicans to unify the party in their GOP-leaning state.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to recapture a Senate majority, and they’ve always counted on Roberts winning. He looked vulnerable after a tough GOP primary with a tea party challenger who portrayed the 78-year-old senator as out of touch.
Roberts’ campaign released a letter from Graves touting the senator’s ability to secure major projects for Kansas. The ex-governor also said that with a GOP majority, Roberts could be Senate Agriculture Committee chairman.
“He is a reasonable man who understands how to solve problems for Kansans, often working on solutions out of the limelight or behind the scenes to deliver results,” Graves wrote of Roberts.
Orman, a wealthy, 45-year-old Olathe businessman, is running as a centrist problem-solver. He received the endorsement in September of a group of disaffected former moderate GOP state legislators, Traditional Republicans for Common Sense.
“The reality is that who endorses Roberts is not going to decide who wins or not,” said Orman adviser Dave Beattie. “The ceaseless political endorsements reinforce that Roberts is the insider and Orman is the outsider.”
Previous heavyweights attempting to rescue Roberts included tea party icon and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 2012 vice presidential nominee and ex-Alaska Sarah Palin. Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, plans a Monday visit.
Graves was the standard-bearer for the Kansas GOP’s moderate wing as a two-term governor from 1995 through 2002. He now serves as president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.
Roberts campaign manager Corry Bliss said Graves’ 60-second radio spot for the senator should start running by Friday.