Last night’s upset of Eric Cantor shocked everyone.
I said it after the Missouri Senate Primary, and it holds even more true now, The Lesson of Iowa and Mississippi primaries: Don’t give up on Kansas:
Joni Ernst and Chris McDaniel had no chance of winning, until she won outright and he won but is in a runoff.Both came out of nowhere because voters rallied around a Tea Party backed candidate. In the case of Mississippi, the battle was against a legacy entitled incumbent.The lesson is not to forget Kansas, where Dr. Milton Wolf is challenging legacy entitled incumbent Pat Roberts in the August 5 primary.Roberts has tons of money and the Republican establishment behind him. And a house in Virginia which is his real home.It can happen again. Don’t settle for less.
There is a certain irony that so many people are saying Eric Cantor’s loss in Virginia may be harbinger of things to come in Kansas, since Pat Roberts spend almost all his time in Virginia, and that has become a huge campaign issue.
A third repercussion is that this has to give other Republicans — think Pat Roberts in Kansas and Lamar Alexander in Tennessee — a scare. The reason: Their challengers are suddenly going to receive A LOT more attention after Dave Brat’s victory last night. Just check out this fundraising email Chris McDaniel, who’s competing against Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), sent to his supporters. “Tonight, conservative Dave Brat won a stunning upset up in Virginia, unseating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Help us pull off another stunner in Mississippi. What does that have to do with the senate race in Mississippi? I’ll tell you: It’s one more example of what can happen when true conservatives band together and demand better from Washington.” And here’s what Tea Party candidate Milton Wolf, who’s taking on Roberts in Kansas, said: “Eric Cantor isn’t the only incumbent from Virginia who is going to lose his primary this year,” Wolf said in a statement to reporters. “On August 5th, it’s Pat Roberts’ turn.”
Pat Roberts is ducking debates so far — and insisting that all four ballot candidates be on stage, even though only Wolf is a serious challengers. That’s the sort of tactic that may backfire in this environment.
Dr. Wolf at my request provided me with the following statement:
“Something BIG happening in Kansas. We see it everyday in our crowds, our volunteers and our contributions. Last quarter among individual contributors, we actually outraised a sitting United States senator. That’s because people who are hungry for bold, conservative leadership are ready to clean house.”
I asked for a couple of photos of the crowds, and was sent these two, among others:
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY
