Taylor Off Ballot; Kobach Demands Dems Nominate Someone
Thu 5:40 PM, Sep 18, 2014
By: The Associated Press; Greg Palmer and Nick Viviani
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW/AP) — Kansas must remove the name of the Democratic candidate against Republican Sen. Pat Roberts from the ballot, the state Supreme Court declared Thursday, in a unanimous ruling that could influence the fight for control of the U.S. Senate.
The court's decision leaves Democrats without a candidate, potentially making it easier for independent candidate Greg Orman to defeat the three-term incumbent. Republicans have counted on Roberts winning re-election in GOP-leaning Kansas as they seek to recapture a Senate majority.
Some Democrats nudged party nominee Chad Taylor out of the race earlier this month to avoid a major split of anti-Roberts votes. Taylor announced his withdrawal, but Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a conservative Republican publicly backing Roberts, declared that Taylor didn't comply with a state election law limiting when nominees can withdraw. Taylor petitioned the Supreme Court to remove his name from the ballot.
The justices unanimously agreed with Taylor, saying his formal letter of withdrawal to the secretary of state's office was sufficient to get his name off the ballot.
Kansas law says party nominees can have their names removed from the ballot if they declare that they'll be incapable of fulfilling the duties of the offices they seek. Taylor's letter said that he was leaving the race "pursuant to" the relevant law but did not say why, and he's never publicly given a reason for dropping out.
"We conclude the plain meaning of 'pursuant to (the law)' contained in Taylor's letter effectively declares he is incapable of fulfilling the duties of office if elected," the justices said.
Kobach argued that Taylor must explain himself, even if he simply says he can't serve as a senator, without giving more details. He had said a quick decision was needed because ballots need to be printed Friday.
Since the decision, Kobach has said he has an appeal window open for the Dept. of Justice to extend the extend the ballot printing until one week from then. He said the Democrats "shall, which means must" name a replacement for Senate.
"Eight days is plenty of time to select a new candidate," he said.
The Court said it did not need to rule on whether or not the Democratic Party would be required to name replacement nominee as Kobach contends, saying the "Kansas Democratic Party is not a party to this original action, and this court does not issue advisory opinions."
Roberts' camp quickly responded to the decision, accusing the Court of "deliberately, and for political purposes, disenfranchis(ing) over 65,000 voters," adding:
In a bow to Senators Claire McCaskill and Harry Reid, liberal activist Supreme Court justices have decided that if you voted in the Democrat Primary on August 5th, your vote does not matter, your voice does not matter, and you have no say in who should be on the ballot on Election Day.
Orman's side minimized the effect of the verdict, with campaign manager Jim Jonas stating, "No matter who's on or off the ballot, Greg Orman is running as an Independent against the broken system in Washington that has failed Kansas and failed America."
"Kansas voters from across the political spectrum are fed up with the mess in Washington, and that's why Republicans, Democrats and Independents are supporting Independent Greg Orman for Senate," he continued.
Republicans need to gain six Senate seats to take the majority from Democrats and Kansas is one of about a dozen races nationally that could determine the outcome.
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/Officials-Await-Court-Ruling-In-Kansas-Senate-Race--275580341.html
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