Republican U.S. Senate candidate David Lindstrom is taking a hard line with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying he’s being “duped” into running for the U.S. Senate.
In a fundraising email circulated Tuesday, the former Johnson County Commissioner argues that the “Washington Republican establishment” is trying to push Pompeo into the Kansas Senate race at his own political peril. Lindstrom called it a “Washington scam.”
“The elite are salivating to damage President Trump and to silence Secretary Pompeo on the international stage where he is an effective voice for America first,” Lindstrom said in an email.
Lindstrom listed 10 reasons why Pompeo should not run for the U.S. Senate based on what he’s heard while campaigning.
“Pompeo has repeatedly denied his interest in the Kansas U.S. Senate race,” Lindstrom wrote.
“Allowing himself to be duped into the race by the establishment puts his own credibility at at risk.”
Lindstrom noted that if Pompeo stepped down as secretary of state, it would be the third time in three years he left a job serving the public to climb “the Washington ladder.”
Pompeo left Congress to join the Trump administration as director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2017 and then moved over to run the State Department last year.
He also added that Pompeo’s decision to run for the Senate would appear to be abandoning Trump in an election year, sending a no-confidence message about the president.
“Let Kansans get on with the business of vetting and electing their own U.S. Senator – and let Secretary Pompeo get back to the business of putting America first,” the email said.
Lindstrom’s fundraising email comes as Pompeo’s interest in the Senate race seems to be increasing with each passing week, marked by everything from fundraising overtures to activating his Twitter account over the weekend.
Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that an internal poll by the Republican Senatorial Committee showed former Secretary of State Kris Kobach winning a GOP primary without Pompeo, something many Republicans fear.
The poll with Pompeo in the race showed him overwhelming the GOP field for U.S. Senate, which also includes Congressman Roger Marshall and Senate President Susan Wagle.
Lindstrom didn’t fare well in either of the polls. The one survey without Pompeo in the race showed him at 3%. Another with Pompeo in the race, showed him at 1%.
Karl Hansen, a spokesman for Lindstrom, said he believes the Republican primary for U.S. Senate is being unfairly portrayed as a two-person campaign between Kobach and Pompeo.
“It seems like Washington is completely fixated that it’s a Kobach-Pompeo race,” Hansen said.
“These polls are taken before the campaign has really gotten underway,” Hansen said. “Everybody else in the race is just now really hitting their stride.”
While there have been suggestions that other Republican candidates would withdraw if Pompeo runs for Senate, Lindstrom is in the race to stay, he said.
“Dave believes he’s the best player on the field,” Hansen said. “He has a full intention of staying in. Regardless of who gets in, there’s going to be a race.”
