Pat Roberts may be hobbled after a tough Republican primary – which saw the U.S. senator win less than 50 percent of the vote – but he’ll still have the easiest path to victory in his four-way race in November, political scientists say.
Roberts, R-Dodge City, faces challenges from Democrat Chad Taylor, the district attorney for Shawnee County, and independent candidate Greg Orman, an Olathe businessman with deep pockets and a message that’s tailor-made for moderates.
Libertarian candidate Randy Batson also could draw votes.
Roberts held off a challenge from tea party-backed Milton Wolf, a Leawood radiologist, to win Tuesday’s primary. Roberts pulled in 48 percent of the vote to Wolf’s 41 percent, with two other candidates splitting the remaining ballots.
Orman’s campaign called Roberts’ victory “stunningly weak” in a release the following day, noting that a majority of Republicans voted against the incumbent.
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