Ted Cruz to help get conservative vote out for Pat Roberts
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks after the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa August 9, 2014. (REUTERS/Brian Frank)
Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is bringing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to campaign for him in Kansas, where polls show him trailing the independent candidate in a contest that could decide which party wins control of the U.S. Senate.
Cruz’s appearance this week in Kansas comes as Roberts tries to woo conservatives to his side after a bruising primary battle this summer and an unexpected serious challenge from independent candidate Greg Orman.
Another conservative hero, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, plans a trip to Kansas in support of Roberts this week. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently joined Roberts on the campaign trail too.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cruz on Monday pointed out that Roberts “stood by my side in the fight to defund Obamacare, and he will continue to fight against intrusive liberal policies in the U.S. Senate.”
“To stop the liberal Harry Reid-Barack Obama agenda, we must win the Senate majority — and we can’t do that without Pat Roberts back in the Senate,” Cruz said.
Roberts’ campaign has been scrambling to thwart the momentum of Orman, who is surging in the polls after the Democratic nominee recently dropped out of the race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democrats encouraged their nominee to withdraw after it became clear Orman had a better shot of beating Roberts.
Republicans losing the Kansas seat could jeopardize the party’s chances of taking control of the Senate.
Milton Wolf — Roberts’ GOP primary challenger — had the support of grassroots conservatives in the state during the contentious, at times very personal, Republican primary. He has not endorsed Roberts in the general election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Getting the conservative vote out for Roberts is vital: A NBC News poll released over the weekend shows Orman leading 48 percent to Roberts 38 percent.