Manhattan man mulling Roberts challenge
Military veteran wants to run for U.S. Senate as independent
A Manhattan man announced Tuesday he will seek to run as an independent against Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts.
Aaron Estabrook said he is forming an exploratory committee to look into running against Roberts, citing a desire to help fellow military veterans.
“Nothing is more important to me than protecting our veterans,” Estabrook said in a statement. “I will not take a back seat in this fight. Barack Obama and Pat Roberts have not followed through on their commitment to the veterans of recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Disabled veterans are waiting more than a year to receive their disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is unacceptable, and it has only gotten worse.”
Estabrook served as gunner and tank commander in the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. He now works at the Salvation Army as a case manager for homeless veterans in northern Kansas.
Sarah Little, a spokeswoman for Roberts, released the following statement in response to a message requesting comment on Estabrook's possible candidacy.
“Senator Roberts is focused on leading the fight against Obamacare, shining light on the political targeting by the Obama administration’s IRS, and fighting every day for Kansas values,” Little said. “He has never taken an election for granted and will continue to fight for Kansans each and every day whomever his opponent may be.”
Roberts is a Marine Corps veteran.
Estabrook said he is prepared to launch a petition drive, if necessary, to get on the ballot as an independent. He said he would run under the banner of the "Moderate Party of Kansas," a political action committee he co-founded last year.
Estabrook worked for conservative U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp when Huelskamp was in the Kansas Legislature. He later registered as a Democrat, citing the Iraq war as one reason for the switch.
Estabrook is on the Manhattan school board and ran unsuccessfully for the Kansas House as a Democrat last year.
Estabrook's fledgling PAC has raised little money thus far but is vying to collect the 17,000 signatures necessary to become a recognized party. It called last month for the resignation of Kansas State Rifle Association president Patricia Stoneking after Stoneking posted his family's name and address in a Kansas Frontiersmen Facebook discussion thread that included threats of violence.
Stoneking said she didn’t see the threats when she made her post and left the survivalist group's site once she did.
