Kansas Democrat Chad Taylor, remember him? He’s the one who wanted to remove his name from the ballot in Kansas, went through all the legal procedures to do so but was told by the Republican that he couldn’t. Well the court has ruled and Chad can legally remove himself from the ballot.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Democratic Senate nominee Chad Taylor’s name should be removed from the ballot in November, overruling Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R).
The much-anticipated ruling in one of the most-watched Senate races of 2014 means national Democrats are closer to their perceived goal of clearing the field for independent candidate Greg Orman. Polling suggests that Orman, who had briefly run as a Democrat in 2008 and is open to caucusing with either party, is better positioned to knock off the vulnerable Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts.
But the matter might not be fully resolved.
After the ruling, Kobach quickly moved to put another obstacle in the way of Democrats’ plan. Kobach reiterated his position that the Democratic Party is required under state law to replace Taylor on the ballot. He said he had notified the party chair that Taylor should be replaced and moved the mailing date for ballots from Sept. 20 to Sept. 27 to give Democrats time to pick a new nominee.
And day is night and up is down. WTF is going on in Kansas? And why would a Republican be this concerned about a Democrat choosing not to run for office.
Would you be surprised if I told you that the answer is selfish politics? With Republicans, the answer is always selfish politics. The answer is never about the will of others and what they want, the answer is always about the Republicans and their selfish need.
The battle brewing in the Republican controlled state of Kansas involves three men running for Senate in the November and recent poll results showing the Republican leading if all three men compete. If the race is only between two people – the Republican and the Independent – the same poll shows the independent winning the election by a landslide.
The Democrat in the race, Mr. Chad Taylor, saw that he had no shot at winning and decided to withdraw, throwing his support behind the independent, Mr. Greg Orman. It is a free country, right? You’d think that the ultimate decision to serve rest solely on the people seeking office and if they chose not to compete, then FREEDOM! But freedom is not really free especially when a Republican is involved.
Chad claims that he followed all the legal procedures to remove himself from the race. Even getting firsthand guidance from the very people who would approve his withdrawal. Chad said that these people (Republicans by the way) even help with the exact wording he used in the documents needed to remove his name from the ballot. He said that he was assured by these people that all the necessary legalities had been followed and that his name would be removed.
“Upon confirming that my letter would remove my name from the ballot, I presented identification, signed the notary ledger, and signed the letter before a secretary of state employee notarized it,” Taylor’s statement said. “My candidacy in this race was terminated yesterday.”
Or so he thought.
You see, control of the US Senate could depend on who wins the Senate seat in Kansas. Republicans know that having Chad remove himself from the race was a sure loss for the Republican candidate.
After giving him everything he needed to legally withdraw his name, Republicans are now saying that Chad did not withdraw his name legally.
The Republican Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, cited a 1997 Kansas statute requiring that candidates wishing to with withdraw their names explain why they cannot serve if elected. Kobach said that although Chad’s letter mentioned the statute, it did not explain why Chad was “incapable” of serving.
It should be noted that the Republican Kris Kobach endorsed the Republican running for Senate.
So there you have it. Against his will and his wishes, Chad Taylor’s name remains on the ballot.
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