The bankers are going to bat for Roger Marshall in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, becoming the latest outside group to pump money into the race for the western Kansas congressman.
The American Bankers Association is joining with the Kansas Bankers Association on a $211,000 statewide ad buy for radio, television and digital.
The ad will appear in the Kansas City, Wichita and Pittsburg/Joplin television markets.
“We are pleased to join ABA in shining a spotlight on Doc Marshall’s efforts to help farmers and small businesses in our Kansas communities,” said Kansas Bankers Association President and CEO Doug Wareham.
“Doc Marshall has a firm understanding of the vital role that banks have played in protecting jobs and driving our state’s economy forward.”
The bankers’ ad buy comes a day after a top Republican PAC – the Senate Leadership Fund – announced it was making a $1.2 million ad buy for Marshall.
The Plains PAC, another group with Republican connections, is spending $3 million on the race with ads trying to take down former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, is spending $296,000 supporting Marshall.
The Keep Kansas Great PAC has already spent $185,000 on Marshall’s behalf as well
The Keep Kansas Great PAC donors include retired Topeka businessman Mark Heitz, who gave $100,000,
Cherokee Warrior, owned by southwest Kansas industrialist Cecil O’Brate, also gave the PAC $15,000.
The ads combat the outside money coming from the Sunflower State PAC, whose treasurer is a Lawrence attorney who has donated to Democratic candidates in Kansas, including former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Sunflower State has already spent $3.6 million on an ad campaign that criticizes Marshall as a phony conservative while using a theme that shows Kobach as a staunch conservative.
Kobach has been fighting back against the outside help for Marshall, saying the Republican establishment is trying defeat him.
At one point on Wednesday, Kobach compared the efforts of Republican leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to the tactics of “radical leftists.”
