TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Retiring Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts declared his support Tuesday for Rep. Roger Marshall as his replacement, the latest signal that the Republican establishment is determined to push Marshall past polarizing conservative Kris Kobach in the GOP primary.
Roberts’ endorsement came in a string of tweets two weeks before the Aug. 4 primary. The four-term senator praised Marshall without mentioning Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state who lost the 2018 governor’s race to Democrat Laura Kelly.
Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, touted Marshall’s service on its House counterpart as “invaluable” and also pointed to Marshall’s experience as a doctor. Marshall is a Great Bend obstetrician who was elected to the House seat for western and central Kansas in 2016.
