Senate races in Kansas aren't usually big news in the rest of the country, but this is an unusual year. Greg Orman, challenger to incumbent Pat Roberts, is running as an independent. If he wins, that would make him a much more powerful senator.
On Monday's Up to Date, we talk with Orman about how he's different from Roberts, what his main policy stances are and how his background got him to this moment. We invited Pat Roberts to join this discussion, but he did not respond to our repeated requests.
Here are some of Orman's words from that interview:
On health care:
- "I think the Affordable Care Act expanded a broken system."
- "Healthcare is one of the only industries I know where you get paid to fix your own mistakes."
On immigration:
- "Sen. Roberts talks about caring about agriculture, and yet the policy he's espousing would ultimately decimate agriculture in this country."
On working across the aisle in the Senate:
- "I think both parties would be well served by selecting someone (to lead the party) who has a demonstrated track record of bipartisanship."
On gay marriage:
- "I actually believe that if there are two people who want to enter into a lifelong commitment to each other in a loving way that we shouldn't, as a country, stand in the way of that. By the same token, I respect the rights and the freedoms of religion, so if there are religions that don't want to perform those ceremonies or don't want to recognize those marriages, I understand that as well."
