“But Roberts should have done the right thing and retired.”
Kansas has dozens of prominent conservative Republicans with proven records of achievement, and apparently none of them thought that Roberts should have stepped aside, since otherwise they would have run against him (and probably beat him soundly in the primary, given that a nobody without conservative bona fides and whose only claim to fame is making fun of people’s X-rays got within 7% of beating him).
In any event, no first-tier conservative challenger ran against Roberts, and he’s now the only conservative running for the Senate (as well as the Republican nominee, for those who still care about such things), so wringing one’s hands and saying that Roberts should have retired (and let political cypher Milton Wolf get the nomination???) is counterproductive.
Kansans can choose among a liberal Democrat, a “moderate” former Democrat, and a conservative Republican. Is this really such a tough choice for conservatives?
Pat Roberts is the nominee and I hope he wins the general, and I expect he will. At the same time, Pat Roberts has been in DC since the 1960’s (starting out as a Congressional aide) and he’s clearly lost touch with the state. It’s time for someone new. But right now that’s a moot point.