Gallup: Kansas turns on GOP

The GOP remains dominant in Kansas, but the percentage of people in that state who identify with the Republican Party is at its lowest in five years, a new poll finds.

Fewer than half of Kansans, 47 percent, identify as or lean Republican, compared with 52 percent last year, according to data published by Gallup on Friday. 

{mosads}The percentage of those who describe themselves as moderate (36 percent) nears the number who identify as conservative (38 percent) in a state where an independent Senate candidate appears to be the front-runner.

Wealthy businessman Greg Orman leads three-term Sen. Pat Roberts (R) 46 to 41 percent among likely voters, per a Suffolk University poll for USA Today released earlier this week.

That poll, conducted Sept. 27-30 among 500 likely voters via cellphone and landline, showed Orman winning 30 percent of Republican votes and Roberts getting just 9 percent of Democratic votes.

The percentage of Kansans who aligned more with the GOP had risen over the course of President Obama’s time in office, from 43 percent in 2009 to last year, according to a Gallup poll conducted during the first half of this year.

Approval of the president’s record in Kansas, like his national numbers, is at record lows. Only 32 percent approve of Obama’s job performance, compared to 57 percent in 2009.

Approval of the president is 11 points lower in Kansas than nationally.