Brief opposing Taylor’s ballot withdrawal filed by father of Brownback campaign staffer

A Kansas City Democrat who filed a brief with the Kansas Supreme Court in opposition to Chad Taylor’s withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race is the father of a Brownback campaign staffer.

The Kansas Supreme Court will review Tuesday whether Taylor, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, should be allowed to come off the November ballot. David Orel, a 57-year-old from Kansas City, Kan., filed an amicus brief with the court on Monday.

The brief argues that allowing Taylor to withdraw from the ballot would rob Orel, a Democrat, from his right to vote for his party’s nominee.

“This case is about preserving the integrity of primary elections and the votes cast in such elections,” Orel’s brief, written by his attorney Thomas Haney, states.

His son, Alexander Orel, works as a regional field director in the Kansas City area for Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign.

John Milburn, a Brownback campaign spokesman, confirmed that Alexander Orel was the son of the man who filed the brief. He declined to comment on the brief or any other aspects of the case beyond the confirmation and said the younger Orel would not be available for comment.

Attempts to reach the older Orel on Monday night were unsuccessful.

Both parties have traded accusations of impropriety since Taylor first submitted his withdrawal letter to the Secretary of State’s Office. Republicans see Taylor’s withdrawal as an underhanded way for Democrats to assist independent candidate Greg Orman in an effort to unseat U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Dodge City.

Democrats, on the other hand, argue that Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach has kept Taylor on the ballot against his will as a way to help Roberts against a strong challenger.

Orel’s brief repeats talking points from the Roberts campaign and Republican officials that taking Taylor off of the ballot would disenfranchise Democratic voters.

“The fact that Mr. Taylor (and presumably the Democratic Party) now apparently want to cast aside their own party’s primary by negating the primary results does not mean that the State can be compelled actively assist in such scheming,” the brief states.

This story was originally published September 15, 2014 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Brief opposing Taylor’s ballot withdrawal filed by father of Brownback campaign staffer."