A day after reports emerged of a big Senate recruitment coup in Indiana, Democrats are looking to expand the map further … into dark red Kansas. According to an unnamed "Democratic official with knowledge of the deliberations," Team Blue is hoping to convince businessman Greg Orman to once again run as an independent, as he did in 2014. That year, Democrats pushed out their own candidate to set up a one-on-one matchup between Orman and GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, but while polls showed an Orman victory was possible, he wound up losing by a dismaying 10 points amidst the Republican wave.
Were Orman to try once more, he'd wind up facing off against Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, who last cycle was chair of the NRSC and would be a far more formidable opponent than Roberts, who limped out of the GOP primary after getting hammered for spending more time in DC than in his home state. But Orman would at least have a couple of advantages he didn't have last time: presidential-year turnout and Donald Trump.
However, Orman already spent some money "testing the waters" for a possible bid earlier this year before apparently deciding against the idea, so he knows the odds would be very steep. And for Orman to have any shot as an independent, Democrats would once again have to get their own nominee to drop out. (Orman would have until Aug. 1 to submit signatures to get on the ballot, the day before the Kansas primary.) But perhaps Trump's flailing campaign and even the Evan Bayh news might change Orman's mind. It would still be the longest of long-shots, but Orman may never have another shot worth pursuing.