Kansas Turns Topsy-Turvy In Midterm Election

We go to the deep red state of Kansas, where Republicans from the Senator to the Governor may lose their seats in the midterm election.

The state of Kansas is deep red Republican.  It’s voted Republican in the last 12 presidential elections.  Hasn’t elected a Democrat as US Senator since 1932.  But right now, Kansas Republicans are in trouble.  Former senator Sam Brownback swept into the governor’s mansion in Topeka in 2010 with a bunch of the Kansas Koch brothers’ money at his back.  Promised a “real life experiment” in purist, hard-right policies on taxes and spending.  A revolution.  Now there’s blowback.  With national implications. This hour On Point:  Kansas’ Republican revolution, in trouble.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Wint Winter, former Republican State Senator in Kansas. Founding member of Republicans for Kansas Values. CEO of People's Bank.

Bob Beatty, professor of political science at Washburn University.

Gerald Seib, Washington bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. (@GeraldFSeib)

Kansas City Star: Roberts, Brownback – two sides of same coin? — "The two have much in common. They’re the most well-known and important Republicans in a Republican state. They’ve spent their adult lives in government, as colleagues. Many voters see them as two sides of the same coin. As a result, Brownback and Roberts are strangely connected this election season, together yet apart. It’s a complex equation neither expected but both must now solve."

The New Republic: This Is What's the Matter With Kansas — "Throughout its history, Kansas has birthed an extraordinary cast of political extremists — radicals who have won fervent followings and sometimes even national attention. But when those extremists have threatened to take over the state’s political system, they have inevitably been checked by Kansans’ deeply held preference for moderation in the governance of their state."

POLITICO: Role reversal: Greg Orman’s wealth gives GOP fodder — "Triumph in the business world, as Mitt Romney learned, doesn’t necessarily translate into success on the campaign trail. And Republicans are seizing on the less-flattering aspects of his business past to bring Orman’s campaign back to earth. In addition to his well-publicized business and personal relationship with a person convicted of securities fraud, Orman has ties to companies that took advantage of offshore or low-tax havens and was once sued by a woman who alleged that Orman threatened to wipe out her children’s college fund if he wasn’t included in a deal, records show."