Overland Park businessman weighing run for U.S. Senate in Kansas
An Overland Park businessman best known locally for his company’s “Better Call Bob” tagline is considering jumping into the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts.
Bob Hamilton, who has frequently appeared in his plumbing company’s television and radio commercials, met with officials from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) last week to discuss his possible candidacy, a source familiar with the discussion confirmed to The Star.
The meeting was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The NRSC has been looking for a candidate who won’t have trouble raising money as Democrat Barbara Bollier reported collecting nearly $1.2 million after only three months in the race.
By comparison, the GOP candidates struggled to raise money during the last quarter amid speculation that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might join the race.
Hamilton may be able to self-fund a campaign.
If he entered the race he would join U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Dave Lindstrom, Kansas Board of Education member Steve Roberts and Brian Matlock, a self-described “Republican socialist” in seeking the GOP nomination.
Multiple sources told The Star that as Hamilton weighs a campaign, he is taking advice from Axiom Strategies, a Kansas City-based consulting firm founded by Jeff Roe, a longtime GOP strategist who managed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Roe declined comment Tuesday.
Dan Loving, a former Wichita Eagle reporter who works as a teacher at Maize High School, said he received a phone poll late last month asking him about Hamilton.
“The name sounded familiar,” Loving said, “but I didn’t know about him.”
However, after a follow up question, which framed Hamilton as a family man, a businessman who supports President Donald Trump and mentioned heating and plumbing, Loving said he recognized the name because of his radio commercials.
The poll also included questions about the current field of GOP candidates, Loving said, including “a lot of very leading questions” about Kobach, the party’s unsuccessful 2018 nominee for governor.
