The Story:
On Tuesday, August 4, Republican Party voters in Kansas selected Roger Marshall, a physician and a staunchly pro-Trump figure, to run for the US Senate to fill the seat being vacated by retiring four-term Senator Pat Roberts. Through him, the Republican establishment has now defeated Kris Kobach, who is at least arguably a white supremacist whom (the establishment feared) would have been a weak candidate against the Democratic foe, Barbara Bollier.
Background:
Marshall first beat out Kobach, and the others in the primary, in fund raising. He received roughly $2.9 million. National Republicans like McConnell believed that Marshall would be the stronger candidate in the November contest against Bollier, and that the defeat of Bollier is crucial in order for the Republicans to keep their Senate majority.
Soon after 9 PM Kansas time Tuesday, with two fifths of the precincts reporting, the AP called the Republican primary for Marshall, who had 37% of the vote to Kobach’s 26%.
The Thing to Know:
Kobach was the Republican candidate for Governor in 2018. He lost that election.The party establishment was so eager to secure the victory of Marshall over Kobach, so as to avoid a similar loss this year, that they brought Bob Dole out of retirement to endorse Marshall.
