WICHITA, Kansas–“Ted Cruz came roaring into the Senate in 2012, a lot like a prairie fire,” Sen. Pat Roberts said, introducing Cruz to an audience here.
Roberts pointed out that a prairie fire was just what Washington needed.
“We have to have them every once in a while to sorta clean out the weeds and clean out the underbrush,” he said.
Cruz spoke out strongly in favor of Roberts, reminding the crowd that the senior Senator from Kansas “stood side by side” with him during important conservative fights in the Senate, including the fight to defund Obamacare and the fight to stop President Obama’s amnesty for illegal immigrants.
The group of Republicans spoke to a crowd of about two hundred people here in Wichita, Kansas — the home of Koch Industries and the birthplace of President Obama’s mother.
Prior to the rally, Roberts supporters waved signs and shouted slogans in response to a small group of Orman supporters who stood outside the building. One man showed up to the rally with a Dr. Milton Wolf sign, huddling with reporters to talk about why he chose Wolf over Roberts in the primary.
During his speech, Cruz acknowledged that there was a “hard fought” Republican primary between Roberts and Wolf, but asked them to put it behind them.
Coburn, who resigned his Senate seat after two terms, stood as a contrast to Roberts, who is currently seeking his fourth term.
But the conservative champion for Oklahoma explained that he had no problem supporting Roberts for re-election, calling him an important leader in the Senate.
One couple from Wichita, Herbie and Jan Hopper, attended the rally, holding a Tea Party flag as they waited for the bus to arrive.
They explained that although Roberts had been in Washington D.C. for a long time, they were still willing to support him because of his conservative record.
The pair said they had no interest in voting for Wolf after reading the news about him posting graphic X-rays on Facebook.
Roberts defeated Wolf, 48 percent to 41 percent.
Cruz explained that he understood people who were frustrated and disillusioned with Washington D.C. but urged them to vote in the November election.
While introducing Cruz, Roberts reminded voters that his campaign was crucial for a Republican majority in the Senate.
Roberts vowed big changes in the Senate once Republicans were in power.
Roberts said he reminded Obama that in Wichita — his mother’s home town — 27,000 people depended on the general aviation business.
Cruz pointed out that Orman’s political stance on the issues was very much like Obama’s when he ran for president, criticizing both parties but repeatedly refusing to take a strong position on the important issues like abortion and amnesty.
In an interview with Breitbart News, Huelskamp pointed out that he was optimistic about a victory for Roberts, especially after seeing recent polls showing the the numbers coalescing for Roberts.
A recent CNN poll showed Roberts and Orman nearly tied, and a Fox News poll released yesterday showed 44 percent of likely voters in Kansas backing Roberts, with 39 percent for Orman.
Huelskamp said that reflected what he was seeing on the ground at town hall events. The Republican base, he explained, was awakening to the prospect of Republicans losing the Senate majority.