•KS-Sen: After the tremendous hubbub generated Wednesday night when Democrat Chad Taylor unexpectedly dropped out of the Kansas Senate race, a bit of reality has begun to seep in on both sides. Most importantly, Secretary of State Kris Kobach did a solid for his fellow Republicans and decreed that Taylor had not properly removed himself from the ballot because his letter of withdrawal failed to specify that he's "incapable" of serving if elected.
Kobach, a notorious xenophobe and birther, claims that Taylor had to cite that exact language, per a Kansas statute. Taylor instead referenced the statute and says that Kobach's office told him in advance that his wording was acceptable. Democrats are incensed, and while the state party hasn't announced a response yet, litigation seems likely.
Kobach actually has a competitive re-election fight of his own (the most recent poll had him tied with his Democratic opponent, Jean Schodorf), so he probably wouldn't enjoy an ugly, protracted fight. Schodorf's already bashing Kobach for being a partisan stooge, but Kobach's a true believe and likely to sail this ship to his doom if need be.
Yet even if Taylor can be pried off the ballot, it's possible Democrats might still be forced to select a replacement. In that case, the solution is obvious: Find a guy named Pat Roberts. But speaking of Pat Roberts (the Republican senator), things aren't looking pretty for him at all. The perspicacious Nathan Gonzales unearthed a brutal quote from Roberts' campaign manager following his boss's (rather weak) win in last month's Republican primary that just underscores exactly what Kansas voters are eager to punish him for:
"He went back home for two days or three to rest. I think he's going to come back here the first of next week.""Back home," in this case, meant Northern Virginia, an amazing error for a candidate who just spent the better part of a year getting beaten up for his disappearance from his home state. Even more amazingly, Roberts has vanished: Despite his manager's claim that he'd "spend every moment between now and the election in Kansas," Gonzales reports that Roberts "has not been actively campaigning for about a month now." Head over the fold to find out what Roberts' party is doing to bail out his sorry ass.