Despite fears to the contrary, GOP base unwavering in Kansas

Was there ever really a question Pat Roberts would win reelection to the Senate in Kansas? The national Democratic machine thought so, which is why it pressured Democrat Chad Taylor to withdraw from the race in September, giving Democrats the opportunity to coalesce with disenfranchised Republicans to elect Independent Greg Orman. Though the pre-election polls showed the race too-close-to-call, Roberts defeated Orman by 10 points.

“I think people just have a hard time voting for not a Republican for Senate,” Cindy Kelly of Wichita told The Wichita Eagle. The seat Roberts holds has belonged to a Republican since 1920. It’s not just the Senate, though. The GOP holds a lock on the governorship, all the congressional districts, and all of the elected executive offices. Even with an approval rating lower than President Barack Obama’s, Gov. Sam Brownback held onto his office on Tuesday night.

Not that Roberts’ win in Kansas was easy. He needed money and manpower from the Republican National Committee to fight off Orman, a millionaire from the Kansas City suburbs. Roberts won his past three Senate campaigns with 60 percent of the votes, or more. Last night, he garnered only 53 percent of the vote. Still, he won all but three Kansas counties, including Orman’s home county in the Kansas City area.

Roberts’ victory shows just how sturdy the Republican base is in Kansas and the rest of the U.S. heartland. Roberts joined GOP winners from Texas to Montana to paint a stripe of red down the center of the country—one that swelled with Republican Senate-seat gains in Iowa and Colorado.

“This is not a near-death experience,” Roberts told the Eagle after celebrating his victory. “I always had confidence we would win.”