Western Kansas congressman launches Senate campaign, hoping to follow path of past senators
Rep. Roger Marshall launched his campaign for Senate at the Kansas State Fair on Saturday, betting a $1.4 million war chest will help him dominate the Republican field.
Marshall had been expected to enter the race for months. He becomes the highest-ranking elected official to run.
“I’m not a politician. I’m a Kansan, a pragmatic Kansan. I’m going to stand beside the president,” Marshall told a crowd of several dozen who gathered to hear his announcement.
If elected, Marshall, 59, would continue a well-worn pattern of voters sending members of Congress from Kansas’s vast first congressional district to the Senate. Bob Dole, Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran have all followed the same path.
Marshall had more than $1.4 million on hand in his House campaign account at the end of June that he can use for a Senate run – a potential cash advantage over other candidates.
The crowded Republican field includes Kris Kobach, who last year lost the governor’s race to Democrat Laura Kelly. GOP critics of Kobach will be watching Marshall to see if he can go head-to-head with the former secretary of state, who commands national attention and the loyalty of diehard supporters.
Marshall’s launch comes days after Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner dropped his bid for Senate to instead challenge Rep. Steve Watkins in the second congressional district.
Senate President Susan Wagle, former Chiefs player Dave Lindstrom and media commentator Bryan Pruitt are also competing for the Republican nomination.
“Marshall’s entry into the race doesn’t affect Secretary Kobach’s ability to win. Marshall has disappointed conservatives on multiple issues from immigration to government spending. Kansas conservatives aren’t going to support him,” Kobach spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said.
Wagle said she is the “trusted conservative” ready to fight for the border wall, against abortion and to “stand up for Kansas agriculture” in the Senate. In a statement, Pruitt said Marshall is “straight out of Hollywood Central Casting for what Liberal Democrats want Republicans to be.”
Lindstrom said in a statement that Kansas Republicans want a “real conservative” and that he is the only candidate who provides that “clear contrast.”
Marshall, an OB-GYN from Great Bend, defeated a sitting congressman in the 2016 Republican primary. Tim Huelskamp fell to Marshall, who campaigned to restore Kansas’s influence over agriculture policy.
Marshall’s campaign launch comes after he toured all 105 Kansas counties after Roberts announced his retirement in January. Marshall had previously said he and his wife would spend August contemplating his final decision on a run.
“Nobody is more pro-life or pro-Second Amendment than I am,” Marshall told the Associated Press in an interview before the announcement. “Am I a kinder, gentler voice? Probably. Am I going work across the aisle to solve problems? You bet.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2019 at 10:11 AM.