TOPEKA — A three-judge panel in Topeka is expected to decide today or Wednesday if the Kansas Democratic Party must name a new candidate to replace Chad Taylor on the ballot for U.S. Senate. However, the plaintiff in the case didn’t show up in court for a hearing Monday. However, the judges refused a motion by an attorney for the Kansas Democratic Party to dismiss the case. The judges also refused a motion by Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach, who sought to join the case to force Democrats to name a candidate. A Wichita Democratic voter named David Orel filed the lawsuit shortly after the Kansas Supreme Court allowed Taylor, the Shawnee County district attorney, to withdraw from his challenge to U.S. Senator Pat Roberts. However, Orel is the father of a staffer in Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Orel’s attorney said Orel is tired of the high-profile legal fight and tired of being contacted by reporters. The paper says judges were annoyed by his absence, saying Orel’s no-show turns the lawsuit into political theater. Taylor’s withdrawal creates a two-way race between U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and independent Greg Orman. Orman, who hasn’t been endorsed by Democrats, has posed a serious challenge to Roberts, and Republicans have been trying to get a Democrat back onto the ticket in hopes of splitting the anti-Roberts vote.
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m.
