Kansas independent candidate Orman: I could switch my party vote in the Senate

Independent candidate Greg Orman has turned the Kansas Senate race into an unexpected wild card in this election season, with the distinct possibility that his vote could determine whether the Democrats or the Republicans control the U.S. Senate. And, he has said in an interview with NBC News, he would even keep the option of switching his vote during a Senate session.

"If four or five months goes [sic] by, and it's clear that they're engaged in the same old partisan politics, we'll be able to change our allegiances and work with the other side," he said. "And I think that's a really strong and important tool, to hold the Senate accountable for actually getting something done."

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asked: "So you can envision switching which party you'd work with, once you were there?"

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"Sure," said Orman. "And ultimately, again, this is about solving problems. This is about the voters of Kansas saying, the status quo doesn't work anymore. So, absolutely."

Orman currently leads incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in all the public polling. He was also helped quite a bit when the Democratic nominee, Chad Taylor, dropped out of the race, thus consolidating the anti-Roberts vote in a state that has only sent Republicans to the Senate since the 1930s. --Eric Kleefeld