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What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Republicans Are Freaking Out About Kansas

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Slate Podcasts

Daily News, News, News Commentary

4.32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2020

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tuesday’s Kansas Senate primary has Republican party leadership concerned. Polls show that Barbara Bollier, a former Republican turned Democrat, stands a chance in the general election against one of the leading Republicans in the primary, Kris Kobach. So much so in fact that a pro-Democrat super PAC has been running ads in favor of Kobach, hoping to face off against him in November. How would a Kobach win on Tuesday upend the battle for control of the Senate? And what are Republicans doing to stop him? Guest: Dave Weigel covers politics for the Washington Post. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

There aren't too many people who would hop on a plane for work these days, but Dave

0:08.6

Weigel over the Washington Post.

0:11.3

He's not like a lot of people.

0:13.5

He says going to Kansas to cover the election that's happening today, it was worth it.

0:18.2

So why did you want to go to Kansas?

0:19.8

I mean, I imagine like you have to really want to go somewhere, to go somewhere.

0:24.2

I think that's a fair way to put it.

0:30.4

Kansas stood out to me just because this is a race that literally when I was there, no one

0:36.0

else had come from East Coast media generally speaking to cover it.

0:40.2

This race is a primary for an open senate seat.

0:44.4

Dave says it's become this portrait of dysfunction in the Republican Party rendered in miniature.

0:51.8

They're actually 11 candidates on the ballot for the GOP, but most people, they're focused

0:56.8

on just two of them.

0:58.6

Chris Kobach, the former Secretary of State in Kansas, big Trump supporter, and Roger

1:04.0

Marshall, a congressman hoping for a promotion.

1:08.2

Dave sums it up like this.

1:10.1

A race between just one of the most influential conservative politicians of his generation

1:16.2

and a candidate kind of being propped up by the Chamber of Commerce, other groups, because

1:21.2

they see him as more electable and they see the iconic conservative of Chris Kobach

1:24.6

as the only person who could blow the seat.

1:27.4

This race is illuminating a Republican dread that the iconic conservative, the one who's

1:33.8

most connected to the president, is also the one most likely to lose.

...

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