GOP Guv On Lackluster Primary Performance: Blame Obama

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback speaks to Republican Party activists during a rally, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, at the state GOP's headquarters, in Topeka, Kan. Standing beside him is U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, and both are seek... Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback speaks to Republican Party activists during a rally, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, at the state GOP's headquarters, in Topeka, Kan. Standing beside him is U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, and both are seeking re-election. (AP Photo/John Hanna) MORE LESS
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Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) had a theory for why a chunk of voters were backing Jennifer Winn, his challenger, in the Republican gubernatorial primary: blame President Barack Obama.

“I think a big part of it is Barack Obama,” Brownback told Kansas’s 41 Action News. “That a lot of people are so irritated at what the president is doing, they just, they want somebody to throw a brick.”

Brownback won the primary on Tuesday with 63.3 percent of the vote while Winn got 36.7 percent, a surprisingly low margin of victory for the tea party-favored Brownback given that it’s the Republican primary in deep red Kansas.

“I think it’s a lot of deep irritation with the way the president has taken the country,” Brownback said.

Brownback is seen as vulnerable in the general election as well. RealClearPolitics currently categorizes the Kansas gubernatorial race as a tossup and a number of polls have shown Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, the Democratic nominee, leading Brownback in the general election.

Brownback also said that the divided primary for U.S. Senate between Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and tea party challenger Milton Wolf was not a contest between a conservative (Wolf) and an establishment lawmaker (Roberts). Instead, he said, just showed how dissatisfied voters are with Obama.

Brownback Communications Director John Milburn said Brownback stood by his remarks even after the primary.

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