(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Tight Senate race in Kansas breaks spending records [1] ['Ollie Gratzinger'] Date: 2020-10-16 19:31:40+00:00 Rep. Roger Marshall (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) State Sen. Barbara Bollier was a Republican until 2018, but on Nov. 3, she’ll be on the Democratic ticket for the Kansas Senate race facing off against Republican U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall in a contest that’s breaking spending records. National super PACs are shelling out big in the traditionally red state. Bollier has amassed more than $20 million to date, shattering quarterly records and drawing the attention of national PACs. In this quarter alone, her totals reached nearly $13 million. Marshall’s total receipts this quarter — from July to September — were just under $3 million. This brings his total thus far to nearly $5.5 million, barely more than a fourth of Bollier’s net sum. Meanwhile, outside groups also are spending big. Duty & Country, an affiliate of Senate Majority PAC, spent a planned investment of $5.5 million on TV and $2 million on digital advertising for Bollier’s candidacy in October, according to Politico. The ads started Tuesday and will run through to the election. This comes after the Republican super PAC Senate Leadership Fund funneled millions into the race. The PAC spent under $10 million against Bollier, and about $1.9 million in support of Marshall. For both parties, the race has been hard-fought. Bollier and Marshall are polling within single digits, according to polls obtained by the Kansas City Star. One sponsored by a Republican PAC with close ties to Marshall has him ahead by 4 points. The other, a survey of 600 likely voters conducted between Sept. 24 and 27 paid for by Washington-based GBAO strategies, has Bollier leading by 2 points. Another poll conducted by VCreek/AMG from Sept. 29 to 30 has Bollier ahead by 3. A Democrat hasn’t won a Kansas Senate contest since 1932, but with her financial lead and appeal to the political center, Bollier has a shot at making history. “Thanks to you — all 364,878 of you — we raised nearly $13.5 million last quarter! I am so humbled by all of the support we’ve received from across Kansas to flip this seat and make history. We’ve got 22 days left, let’s win this thing!” Bollier said in a tweet on Monday. This year’s Kansas race has been unusually tight, and Bollier certainly stands a chance at turning the Sunflower State blue — and according to FiveThirtyEight, there are a few reasons this may be the case. Polls have shown a growing belief that President Donald Trump — and the rest of the GOP with him — lost the support of many Kansas voters after a landslide victory in the state four years ago. Former Gov. Sam Brownback’s considerable cuts to taxes and government programs soured Kansas residents, and Kobach, the state’s former secretary of state, focused on restricting immigration and making it harder to vote. Democrats hope Bollier’s centrism will attract disillusioned Kansas Republicans who have traditionally voted red, but are divided over Trump and the GOP. Bollier has a history with the party after all; she’d served as a Republican member of the House and then the Senate for eight years, from 2010 to 2018. But in December 2018, critical of Trump and believing the Kansas GOP had moved too far to the right, she switched parties. The lack of an incumbent Republican running for the seat has worked in Bollier’s favor as well. It’s easier to win an open seat than to unseat an incumbent, and with the retirement of 84-year-old Pat Roberts, both Marshall and Bollier are coming in fresh. The Kansas GOP had a competitive primary, with Marshall facing off against Kris Kobach, a staunch conservate opposed by most national Republicans who many feared could jeopardize the party’s Senate majority. Conversely, Bollier did not face a competitive primary election, allowing her to save dollars while Marshall spent big securing the nomination. Senate Majority PAC and EMILY’s List — the nation’s largest resource for women in politics — also spent more than $5 million funding Sunflower State leading up to the August primary. The group spent heavily in the state’s GOP race and ran attack ads targeting Marshall — including one calling him a “swamp creature” — while promoting Kobach. Republicans in particular invested in Marshall with the hope of stopping Kobach, and they were ultimately successful. The Senate Leadership Fund spent about $2 million and also contributed $3.5 million to Plains PAC, an action committee created with the express goal of defeating Kobach. The Senate Leadership Fund also spent or reserved more than $12 million worth of TV ads in Kansas for this month and last. Its affiliated nonprofit One Nation also spent about $4 million following the primary. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/10/kansas-senate-1020-pic/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/