153,000 Kansas Have Voted in Advance

(AP) – More registered Republicans have cast early votes in Kansas than voters affiliated with other parties in the state.

GOP officials are trumpeting the data as a signal that Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts will be re-elected Tuesday.

Democrats and independent Senate candidate Greg Orman’s campaign say many Republicans are breaking with the party’s top nominees.

Recent polling has suggested close races between Roberts’ and Orman, and between Brownback and Democratic challenger Paul Davis.

Nearly 153,000 people had voted as of Thursday.

Of those, 54.2 percent were registered Republicans, 30.6 percent were Democrats and 14.9 percent were unaffiliated. Among the state’s 1.74 million registered voters, 44.6 percent are Republicans, 24.5 percent are Democrats and 30.2 percent are unaffiliated. Libertarians comprise less than 1 percent of either group.