Shell game in Kansas - why Democrats don't have to win Kansas to win the Senate

The race for Senate in Kansas may suddenly be the most crucial contest in the nation as Republicans scramble to protect their longtime incumbent, Bob Dole is back on the campaign trail, Democrats are being as quiet as possible about not having a candidate, and a 45-year-old from Kansas City may actually hold the key to control of the Senate.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - When 2014 rolled around, no one thought Kansas would be a critical state for controlling the Senate, but after a Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Democratic nominee could withdraw his name from the ballot.

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Democrats are celebrating this ruling because-while their candidate may be off the ballot-the departure benefits Greg Orman, and independent, and hurts longtime Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Roberts-who has already been shaken up by his hard race to reelection.

Orman has been the cause of much of Roberts's troubles, declining to say if he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans. More troubling for Republicans as a whole is that if Orman is elected, he has the potential ability to keep the Senate out of Republican hands if the chamber is narrowly divided after the midterm elections.

Even prior to the Kansas Supreme Court's September 18 ruling, Roberts-who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate-has been trailing in the polls, which has caused Dole to plead with Republican financial supporters to shore up the Roberts campaign.

But the news is not all bad for Republicans.

Orman, a venture capitalist who has financed his own campaign in part, may find wealth becoming an issue now that he is the sole focus of the Republican party, which has begun to scour his investments, but the new campaign manager of the Republican Party seems stressed about whether these next six weeks will even offer enough time to adequately research Orman's holdings.

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