GOP’s Roberts heads to swing-voting east Kansas

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is taking his conservative re-election message into the state’s swing-voting east in his campaign against independent candidate Greg Orman.

Roberts planned to greet football fans attending the University of Kansas game Saturday in Lawrence, a day after Secretary of State Kris Kobach began preparing ballots without a Democratic candidate.

Roberts has won his three terms with at least 60 percent of the vote, but Orman could benefit from Democrat Chad Taylor’s exit from the race.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled this week that ballots should be printed without Taylor’s name, though Kobach has said he’s not abandoning efforts to get Democrats to name a replacement.

Roberts plans to campaign with Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain next week in Lawrence and the nearby Kansas City suburbs.