After mostly ignoring his independent opponent and then finding himself suddenly at risk of losing, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) gave a preview of its future attacks on independent candidate Greg Orman in a new online video published Friday. The video is one of the first concrete examples of the tack the Roberts campaign, recently taken over by national GOP operatives will take to hold on to a seat that could decide who controls the Senate.
The online video, dubbed “PRETENDER,” portrayed Orman as a closeted Democrat who is feigning conservatism to defeat Roberts. The ad invokes Orman’s brief 2008 Senate run as a Democrat and his campaign donations to Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama.
“Like Obama, Greg Orman will saying anything to get elected,” the narrator says, “even pretending he’s a conservative like Pat Roberts.”
The ad then super-cuts multiple times in a Sept. 6 debate in which Orman said he agreed with Roberts on a subject. The Roberts campaign confirmed to TPM that the video was online only for the time being.
“Phony politicians like Orman and Obama are the problem,” the narrator concludes. “Principled conservatives like Pat Roberts are the solution.”
The Kansas Senate election has been upended since Democratic nominee Chad Taylor withdrew from the race, leaving Orman to square off with Roberts. Recent polling has shown the candidates running neck and neck.
The national Republican apparatus has also taken over Roberts’s campaign, and the new video is one of the first extensive looks at how they’ll approach the race.
