With the Aug 5 Republican primary on the horizon, Kansas Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, “is still the favorite to win renomination,” says Sabato’s Crystal Ball. ” Roberts has been gaffe-happy and vulnerable to the same kind of residency attacks that hampered former Sen. Richard Lugar,” it says, but opponent Milton Wolf, a physician, “is decidedly second tier” as a challenger. Earlier this week, the Topeka Capital-Journal said, “The Kansas Board of Healing Arts is investigating U.S. Senate candidate Milton Wolf’s display on a personal Facebook page of X-rays of dead and injured people accompanied by dark-humor commentary about the images.”
Republicans need to win open-seat races if they are to take control of the Senate, says the Crystal Ball. “That could potentially make Iowa the decisive state for the Senate.” The political newsletter now lists Iowa as a toss-up race; formerly, it was “leans Democratic.” Tom Harkin, a five-term Democrat and former Ag Committee chairman, is retiring.