Orman looks on as Roberts answers a question during the debate. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)Two candidates for a U.S. Senate seat from Kansas met for their first public debate over the weekend. Republican Senator Pat Roberts was on the offensive against Greg Orman, the independent candidate. Orman says the U.S. faces problems with health care, the budget and education policy, and Washington has become a place where partisanship is blocking progress.
Senator Roberts called Orman a “liberal,” but Orman says he has supported Democrats and Republicans in the past. Roberts touted his own decades of experience in Washington and says he would fight President Obama and the current Democratic leaders in the Senate.
The Democratic candidate for the Senate seat, Chad Taylor, pulled out of the race not long before the debate. Roberts claims that was a ploy to boost Orman’s support. Orman says he had nothing to do with Taylor leaving the race. Also running for the seat is Libertarian Randall Batson.