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“Sparks Fly” at Kansas GOP Senate Debate as Marshall Draws Continued Criticism Over Conviction Scandal

Marshall Slammed for Using Political and Business Connections to Erase Conviction, Still Facing Calls to Release Sealed Affidavit

Last night’s Kansas GOP Senate debate saw “sparks fly”as the underwhelming field of Republican candidates continued to attack each other in the “divisive and crowded” primary that has plagued Washington Republicans and left them “spooked this year.” Following a bombshell report that revealed how Congressman Roger Marshall used his political and business relationships to erase a reckless driving conviction and replace it with a minor traffic violation, Marshall faced an onslaught of brutal scrutiny from the other candidates for that scandal.

The nasty debate underscored how much of a “headache” Kansas has become for Republicans. The “messy” primary has forced the NRSC to sweat yet another state their party has previously taken for granted, and whichever damaged candidate limps out of Republicans’ bruising primary will face a “strong candidate” in Dr. Barbara Bollier. A physician and state senator, Bollier has posted the biggest fundraising numbers of the entire field and is in a dead heat with the GOP candidates according to a recent poll.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Associated Press: Kansas Rep. Marshall Faces Attacks in GOP Senate Debate

  • A western Kansas congressman who’s been firming up Republican establishment support for his U.S. Senate bid came under attack during a Wednesday night debate over a 12-year-old misdemeanor criminal case and for missing votes while treating coronavirus patients.
  • Kobach and another GOP candidate, Dave Lindstrom, a businessman and former Kansas City Chiefs professional football player, raised their own questions about Marshall’s viability by referring in their closing statements to a criminal case against Marshall arising from a confrontation with a fellow western Kansas resident in 2008.
  • Meanwhile… Kobach criticized Marshall for missing two key votes on coronavirus relief measures, suggesting Marshall isn’t willing enough to battle Democrats.
  • “He was here in Kansas doing a photo-op. Look, if you want to be a doctor, be a doctor. Go for it,” Kobach said. “I would say if you’re going to take this job, do the job — show up.”
  • Republicans haven’t lost a Senate race in Kansas since 1932. But they’re spooked this year because presumed Democratic nominee state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a retired Kansas City-area doctor, raised nearly $3.5 million for her campaign by the end of March.

Kansas City Star: Kobach, Marshall, Lindstrom debate health care, coronavirus response in GOP Senate race

  • In a Republican debate for the U.S. Senate primary focused on health care and the coronavirus pandemic, Kris Kobach attacked Roger Marshall for missing a vote while in Kansas for a “photo op” of volunteering in a hospital.
  • Democrats are hopeful they can flip the seat if Republicans select a weak nominee and state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Johnson County Democrat, maintains her lead in fundraising.
  • Lindstrom and Kobach both attacked Marshall over a story from The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star detailing how Marshall’s 2008 criminal conviction for reckless driving was erased and replaced with a traffic violation. He has refused to release an affidavit detailing the law enforcement investigation.
  • “I’ve had enough of wannabe career politicians who conduct shady backroom deals after being charged with and prosecuted for reckless driving and battery,” Lindstrom said.
  • “Part of getting elected means you have to know what the negatives are on a candidate,” Kobach said. “I’ve been in three statewide races and won two out of three. Everybody knows what the negatives are going to be. They’ve been out there for a long time. But now just in The Wichita Eagle we saw something come up about a shady backroom deal that made some crime go away.”

KAKE: Sparks fly at Republican senatorial debate

  • More than a few sparks flew Wednesday night at the third debate in the race for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate.  Three of the top four candidates took the stage at Century II, all starting with smiles on their faces.  But it didn’t take long for things to get serious.
  • [Lindstrom] lobbed the first barb about a 2008 reckless driving charge against Marshall, later lowered to a lesser traffic charge.  Kobach quickly added on to it, calling for Marshall to release a sealed affidavit in the case so the public would know what really happened.

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