After a brief jump in the polls by his independent challenger, Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas appears to be breaking away.
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CNN poll shows Roberts with a 1 point lead with likely voters — 49 percent to 48 percent — over his opponent, Greg Orman.
The poll could be an "outlier," according to
RealClearPolitics, which has had Orman with a lead margin ranging from 2.7 points to 10 points. But it may also indicate building momentum for Roberts, who has attempted to marginalize Orman by questioning his business experience and lumping him in as an Obama loyalist, "a liberal Democrat" without "a backbone."
Fox News poll results show Roberts with a 5 percent advantage — 44 percent to 39 percent — a striking turnabout from three weeks ago when Orman led by 6 points.
The majority of likely voters are staying party faithful, with 73 percent of Republicans backing Roberts and 71 percent of Democrats supporting Orman, according to Fox News.
Independents pick Orman by a 45 percent to 34 percent margin. Even so, Roberts has the advantage because Republicans far outnumber Democrats in Kansas.
The Kansas race became national news when the Democratic candidate, Chad Taylor, dropped out of the race in September, broadening Orman's appeal with voters disenchanted with Roberts, who has fielded criticism for being out of touch with Kansans.
Orman will not say which party he plans to caucus with if he's elected, telling CNN he will vote with the majority.
Orman has previously run as a Democrat but has financially supported as well as voted for candidates in both parties, according to CNN.
"If I get elected and neither party is in the majority, then what I'm going to do is I'm going sit down with both sides, propose a pro-problem solving agenda, and ask both sides whether or not they're willing to support that agenda," he said. "And we're going to be likely to support the agenda and the party that's most likely to embrace a pro-problem solving agenda."
During a recent debate, Orman compared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, to a dictator.
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