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In a number of hot Senate races, Republicans are casting the election as a referendum on President Obama. In Kansas, the question is whether that strategy can succeed against a political independent.

In a televised debate聽Wednesday聽night, Sen. Pat Roberts (R) repeatedly characterized his opponent as 鈥渁 liberal Democrat鈥� and said Kansas needs to vote Republican to upend 鈥渢he Obama-Reid agenda鈥� 鈥� a reference to Senate majority leader Harry Reid.听

Kansas is one of the nation鈥檚 pivotal races as Republicans seek a net gain of six seats to take control of the Senate.

Senator Roberts described Greg Orman 鈥� who is running as an independent 鈥� as a rich office-seeker who has donated money to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, has a 鈥渇riend, Harry Reid,鈥� and is raising money from the likes of liberal financier George Soros and the AFL-CIO.

The election could come down to whether that liberal label sticks, or whether voters view Orman as a kind of swashbuckling iconoclast 鈥� someone who will be conservative enough for Kansas while also breaking free of the status-quo partisanship that besets Washington.

In the聽Wednesday聽debate, Orman came out of the gate with a blunt message that you don鈥檛 generally hear from leading candidates for office: That the problem in Washington isn鈥檛 the other candidate鈥檚 party, but聽both聽political parties.听

He called Roberts just 鈥渉alf right鈥� for blaming President Obama and Senator Reid.

Orman鈥檚 closing statement was an eloquent appeal for fresh blood in Congress to bridge partisan divides and 鈥済et back in the business of solving problems.鈥�

鈥淚s Washington working?鈥� Orman asked his audience. 鈥淚f you think that it is, I鈥檓 not your guy.鈥�

So far, Orman鈥檚 message is appealing enough to make it a close race. It hasn鈥檛 helped Roberts that many Kansans think the senator is more attached to Washington than to his home state.听

An average of five recent polls, tracked by the website RealClearPolitics, shows the two candidates precisely tied among likely voters, with about three weeks of campaigning to go.听聽聽

In the debate, Roberts criticized Orman on issues ranging from farm policy to immigration.

Roberts said Orman is 鈥渇or amnesty鈥� toward illegal immigrants. Orman rebuffed that tag, saying his approach 鈥� conferring legal status on immigrants only once they do things like pay a fine 鈥� is consistent with what some Senate Republicans have supported.

Roberts touted his own strong backing from the National Rifle Association. Orman replied that support for the Second Amendment can coexist with background checks for gun buyers.

When Orman said it鈥檚 time for the nation to move on from debating abortion rights, Roberts called it 鈥渦nconscionable鈥� to argue that it鈥檚 time to 鈥済et past the rights of the unborn.鈥�

Roberts seemed to have a tougher time pinning the liberal label on Orman on the fiscal front.

When food stamps came up, Orman said that if social-welfare programs are prompting complacency or dependency, they need to be fixed or ended. That view sounded more like Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin 鈥� a leading House Republican 鈥� than like Obama.

Orman joined Roberts in lamenting the heavy hand of federal regulation on the economy. Orman said rules should come up for review every 10 years to make sure the government is 鈥渘ot stifling innovation.鈥�

Orman also recounted how in 2010 he donated money to Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown of Massachusetts, specifically because he thought Mr. Brown could block Obamacare, a measure 鈥渆xpanding a broken system鈥� of health care.听聽

As Roberts criticized Orman for fundraising with liberal donors, Orman cited his own support for action designed to reduce the influence of outside money on politics.

Specifically, Orman backs the idea of a Constitutional Amendment to overturn the Supreme Courts 2010 鈥淐itizens United鈥� decision 鈥� a ruling seen as opening new floodgates for corporate influence on politics. Roberts implied that Orman鈥檚 approach would undercut First Amendment free speech rights.