Is this the year Kansas will send a Democrat to the Senate?



By David Goldstein and Steve Kraske | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Kansas hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since the Great Depression.

Through 13 presidents and five wars, Republicans have held its two seats for 76 unbroken years — the longest streak in the nation.

But today's political climate could weaken their grip.

"The Republican brand is really bad in many parts of the country, with Kansas being better than many, but still not good," said Scott Bensing, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "It's not a top-tier race, but it's one of those where, should Democrats come into a bunch of money, it'd be a race."

The contest pits Pat Roberts — a Washington fixture — against Jim Slattery —a former congressman and now a Washington lobbyist:

In a year when "change" is the buzz word, neither sounds like the perfect candidate to match the political mood.

Roberts' longevity and ties to the Bush administration could hurt. He was a safe White House vote during its first five years. Only in the past three has his loyalty slipped slightly.

"Pat Roberts has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Bush-Cheney administration," Slattery said. "When all of the policies were put in place, Roberts voted for everything that was significant to the president. He voted for the war. He voted for this just reckless fiscal policy."

Roberts spokeswoman Molly Haase countered that "when the president is wrong, like on children's health care, the farm bill, expanded veterans' benefits and Medicare, Senator Roberts votes against him."

Roberts voted with the president 96 percent of the time during Bush's first term, according to figures from Congressional Quarterly. In 2006, Roberts' score dropped to 88 percent and to 81 percent in 2007.

Slattery's absence from Kansas since leaving office 14 years ago could brand him as out of touch. And his career as a lobbyist is an inviting target.

"I’m not a perfect candidate," Slattery acknowledged.

Even Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, rejected his $50 contribution because he does not accept money from lobbyists.

"If Obama won't even take Slattery's money, how's he going to stand next to him and urge Kansans to support him?" said Roberts’ pollster, Neil Newhouse.

Pollwise and moneywise, Roberts is ahead. He has raised $850,000 since April and has $3 million in the bank.

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