Neither Candidate Declared Loser in the Battle for Wichita, Kansas

The debate was reaching its end when the moderator, journalist Darren Dedo, ingenuously asked Greg Orman, 45, and Pat Roberts, 78, each to say a kind word about the other. The first praised the gentlemanly character, humor and military past of the outgoing senator, who for his part — after a moment’s hesitation — congratulated his opponent on his well-cut suit.

On Wednesday evening, a television studio in Wichita, a city in the south of Kansas, hosted the only debate in the U.S. to pit an independent senatorial candidate, who came out as the better of the two, against a Republican, an outgoing senator, who performed with less elegance. This situation arose due to the withdrawal of the appointed Democratic candidate at the end of the party’s primaries in September, causing complications in the Republicans Party’s bid to take control of the Senate.

One can understand Pat Roberts’ state of mind: amiably described throughout the debate as an out-of-touch senator, after more than half a century of occupying various positions in Washington and being responsible for half of the country’s blockages, with the other half having been caused by the Democrat Party. The senator responded by pulling out the Republican weapon of choice for this electoral season, Barack Obama, whose hidden ally would be Greg Orman. He waved about Ebola, Mexican drug cartels, and the Islamic State as alarmist threats to the United States, which a “secured border” would bring under control. His opponent did not dither over two sensitive social topics in this particularly conservative state, declaring himself in favor of abortion and also in favor of a minimum background check on firearms sales, adding that he possessed two guns, as compared to his opponent who has full support from powerful lobby group, the National Rifle Association.

The hour-long debate, broadcast by the KSN-TV network, prompted a digital battle on Twitter, with both parties claiming victory after the end of the exchange. Will it have changed voter opinions? The surveys, which currently show a slight lead by the independent candidate, will soon give us an answer to the question.

As he came to greet the journalists who had watched the debate at a distance in a neighboring room, the outgoing senator condemned his opponent, an accomplished businessman turned tycoon, who is like a plutocrat. Before the same audience, several instants before, his independent opposition had chosen to avoid destructive words, stating, “I’d rather attack problems than people.” The strategy gave off the smell of a rink freshly painted for the upcoming electoral sparring contest.