Not so flat and boring after all: how the Kansas Senate racebecame 2014’s most improbable tossup

Before this summer, few commentators would have thought that the state of Kansas would move from a safe Republican seat to a tossup race that may have implications for the control of the Senate. Patrick Miller looks at the state of the race between the three term time incumbent Pat Roberts and his Independent challenger, Greg Orman. He writes that a combination of poor campaigning, residency questions, and the withdrawal of the Democratic candidate from the ballot have come together to provide an unexpected challenge for Pat Roberts this midterm cycle.