The first debate pitting three major candidates for U.S. Senate against each other was marked by sometimes testy exchanges as Kris Kobach, Roger Marshall and Susan Wagle battled over who supports President Donald Trump the most.
In an hourlong debate at the state Republican convention, Kobach, Marshall and Wagle sought to gain the conservative high ground as they worked to sway party loyalists in what is anticipated to be a hard-fought primary.
Republican David Lindstrom could not attend Saturday’s debate after undergoing surgery for kidney stones.
Kobach, Marshall and Wagle portrayed themselves as uncompromising conservatives who back the president as he fights to stave off efforts to remove him from office.
The president has loomed in the backdrop of the U.S. Senate race, knowing that his endorsement in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2018 helped tilt the race to Kobach in a crowded field.
However, cracks started to form as Marshall claimed Trump was backing him in the campaign in response to Kobach’s criticisms that the congressman was undercutting the president’s trade policy.
Kobach ripped a newspaper column that Marshall authored last May saying that Kansas farmers would not withstand another round of tariffs.
“If we have to make the president’s hand a strong one, which we do, we cannot shoot him in the back and undermine his negotiating position by saying, ‘No, we can’t take any more,'” Kobach told a large convention audience.
Kobach openly questioned why Marshall wrote the opinion piece, emphasizing that he wouldn’t say anything that would jeopardize the president’s policies.
Marshall quickly responded, calling the accusation “fake news” and “political spin.”
“That’s exactly what the national press does,” Marshall said. “They grab one little excerpt and then spin it into a great big lie.”
Marshall continued, saying that the president called him personally to thank him for representing him well during an appearance on Fox News.
“He called me and said, ‘Roger, thank you for doing a great job representing me. When you go back, tell your farmers I love them,'” the congressman said.
“I have his back,” Marshall said. “I have an incredible relationship with the president. That’s why he supported me and not anybody else on this stage.”
The congressman later clarified the comment, saying the president’s support was limited to agriculture and trade and “not on broader issues.”
“I think I probably spent more time with the president than anybody else in Kansas has over the past six months,” Marshall said after the debate.
“I think I’ve earned the respect and support of the White House,” he said. “We have a great relationship. The president will be ultimately the one who sorts this out.”
Senate President Wagle, positioned in between Marshall and Kobach on the stage, lashed out at both of them.
An animated Wagle criticized Marshall for being part of a Republican-controlled House that failed to accomplish much with Trump as president.
“I don’t know of anything that was accomplished,” Wagle said.
She immediately turned to Kobach, jabbing a finger at him and blaming him for a “three-way race” (actually a five-way race) for governor that led to the election of Democrat Laura Kelly.
“We need a proven fighter, folks,” Wagle said. “We need someone who can help Trump, help Kansas and help elect Republicans down-ballot.”
Kobach recited Marshall’s record with the Club for Growth, a conservative group that backs limited government and gave him a score of 47 out of 100 in 2018.
He criticized Marshall for not supporting a 1% across-the-board cut in federal spending and voting against a cut in spending for the National Endowment for the Arts.
“You have to elect someone who will be one of the very few senators who are serious about cutting federal spending,” Kobach said.
“We need people who are serious about cutting federal spending. It is unsustainable. This is a ticking time bomb in economy,” he said.
Marshall called Kobach’s comments more “fake news” and “more political spin by a professional politician.”
“I am proud of my fight on the budget,” he said. “There’s nothing that keeps me up later at night than worrying about our budget.”
On a couple occasions, Marshall stressed his 98% record of voting with the president.
Kobach was dismissive of the number, saying it included a number of noncontroversial votes, such as naming post offices.
Wagle said she is a proven Kansas conservative who will help the president.
“I’m the only one up here who was elected as a conservative consistently here in the state of Kansas,” she said.
“I’ve carried that message. I’ll do that in the next election. It’s all about him having people who will support him so he can get things done.”
Marshall said a lot has been accomplished with Trump as president.
The economy is flourishing, the military is strong and a number of onerous government regulations have been lifted, he said.
“There are so many great things that we’ve done,” Marshall said. “I think America is much better today than she was three years ago.”
The debate came the day after campaign finance reports were filed.
Marshall still is holding a hefty amount of money in the bank, with about $1.9 million on hand after raising about $217,000 last quarter.
Kobach raised almost $102,000 last quarter, ending the year with about $190,000 on hand.
Wagle reported bringing in $103,000 in the fourth quarter. She has about $522,000 on hand, an amount buoyed by the $275,000 loan she previously gave her campaign.
Lindstrom reported raising about $104,000 not counting the $15,000 loan he gave to the campaign. Lindstrom now has about $291,000 on hand.
Democrat Barbara Bollier hauled in $1.1 million, more than Marshall, Kobach, Wagle and Lindstrom combined. She has about $810,000 on hand.
