Thread: Kansas Supreme Court removes Democrat from Senate ballot

September 18, 2014, 05:43 pm

Kansas Supreme Court removes Democrat from Senate ballot


By Alexandra Jaffe

Greg Nash

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday to grant Democrat Chad Taylor’s request to be removed from the Kansas Senate ballot, issuing a blow to Sen. Pat Roberts’s (R-Kan.) chances for reelection this fall as he faces a surging independent candidate.

"Taylor's petition for writ of mandamus is granted, and [Kansas Secretary of State Kris] Kobach is ordered to comply with his clearly defined duty imposed by K.S.A. 26-306b(b). He shall not include Taylor's name on any ballots for the office of United States Senate for the general election on November 4, 2014,” the court wrote in its ruling.The court’s decision now removes an obstacle from self-funding independent Greg Orman’s path, making Roberts's path to reelection far more complicated. Polling has shown him vulnerable in a matchup, but still competitive. But with Taylor out of the race, polling has shown Orman surging ahead of Roberts.

The GOP senator's campaign blasted the court's ruling.

"Today, the Kansas Supreme Court deliberately, and for political purposes, disenfranchised over 65,000 voters. In a bow to Senators Claire McCaskill and Harry Reid, liberal activist Supreme Court justices have decided that if you voted in the Democrat Primary on August 5th, your vote does not matter, your voice does not matter, and you have no say in who should be on the ballot on Election Day. This is not only a travesty to Kansas voters, but it’s a travesty to the judicial system and our electoral process," Roberts campaign manager said in a statement.

"No matter who's on or off the ballot, Greg Orman is running as an Independent against the broken system in Washington that has failed Kansas and failed America. Kansas voters from across the political spectrum are fed up with the mess in Washington, and that's why Republicans, Democrats and Independents are supporting Independent Greg Orman for Senate," Orman campaign manager Jim Jonas said in a statement.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...-request-to-be

Court says Kansas Democrats don't have to run Senate candidate

Reuters

- ‎2 minutes ago‎

KANSAS CITY Kan. (Reuters) - A court ruled on Wednesday that Kansas Democrats do not have to put a candidate on the ballot for the U.S Senate, a decision that is expected to boost chances of an independent beating the Republican incumbent in . . .