If you ask the average American who lives outside the Midwest about Kansas, you would get descriptions of a boring, flat, windy place full of cows and farmers and a whole lotta nothing. The more charitable person might mention the beloved “Wizard of Oz.” The more politically astute might talk about Kansas as the ‘reddest’ state in the nation.

Kansas is bloody red now, thanks to some bare-knuckled political brawling, which started with the Republican primary for Senate and now continues into the midterm elections. As a resident of that state, I’ve had a front row seat to this knock-down, drag-out donnybrook, one that has garnered the eyes of everyone who follows politics for its significance in a potential power-shift in the Senate.

The altercation began on October 3, 2013, when radiologist Dr. Milton Wolf of Leawood, a tony suburb of Kansas City on the Kansas side, announced that he would challenge incumbent Senator Pat Roberts. Roberts is a 78-year-old seasoned veteran of the Senate, having been elected to his first Senate term in 1997, after having served in the House of Representatives since 1981. Wolf — interestingly, a second cousin of Barack Obama on his mother’s side — was the darling of the Tea Party, Roberts the champion of establishment Republicans.

Roberts edged out Wolf in an extremely nasty battle for the August primary nod, in a race closer than what one would expect for an experienced Washington insider staving off an amateur politician. The bitterness continues: to this day Wolf has still not endorsed his former opponent. Rumors even flew that Wolf was planning to endorse Orman; however, those rumors were quashed.

I have seen Senator Roberts at various political events over the years. I met and spoke with Milton Wolf at a meet-and-greet held in a private home. As the months wore on and the political altercation became more noxious and personal, I saw each candidate with a more negative view. I saw fellow conservatives whom I knew personally break off friendships over this primary. And me? Disgusted with the entire process, I nearly didn’t cast a vote in the primary for Senate. Eventually I did, but I promised myself I would support whomever prevailed, and I have indeed cast my early vote for Pat Roberts, as I believe it is most imperative to remove “Dingy” Harry Reid from his perch as Senate Majority Leader.

One month later, in early September, the Kansas Senate race got, well, even more weird.

Challenging Pat Roberts for his Senate seat had been Shawnee County district attorney Chad Taylor, a Democrat, and the  declared “independent” candidate Greg Orman, a wealthy entrepreneur who was most recently a Democrat. On September 3, Taylor decided to drop out of the race after a Democratic pollster found that Orman would run better against Roberts than the poorly-funded Taylor.

If you smell a political rat, you weren’t alone. Leroy Towns, Roberts’ campaign manager, ripped into Orman:

“Chad Taylor’s withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race reveals a corrupt bargain between Greg Orman and national Democrats including Senator Harry Reid that disenfranchises Kansas Democrats. It makes clear what has been obvious from the start: Orman is the choice of liberal Democrats and he can no longer hide behind an independent smokescreen.”

Enter Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a conservative Republican and former law professor at University of Missouri at Kansas City. Kobach declared that Taylor was still on the ballot whether he liked it or not, as he had not fulfilled the letter of a 1997 state law that required the withdrawing candidate to declare that he or she is “incapable” of serving if elected.

“No dice,” the Kansas Supreme Court effectively told Kobach:  Taylor was allowed to withdraw from the ballot, and the Kansas Democratic Party was not required to find a replacement. It was now Roberts vs. the younger, more attractive Orman.

But let’s see who this “independent” challenger Greg Orman is, shall we?

As I wrote above, Orman was most recently a Democrat. While he brays about being an independent, embracing both Democrats and Republicans in his past, his list of current supporters indicate a liberal in non-partisan clothing.

He’s been endorsed by the mega-union AFL-CIO. Liberal editorial writer Barbara Shelly of the Kansas City Star gushed that Orman wanted to join the “coolest caucus;” i.e. the Senate Women’s Caucus. (Isn’t he just the dreamiest?) He was recently feted at a Boston-area fundraiser hosted by former Democrat Rep. Chester Atkins, who incidentally was booted from office for being a check-bouncer.

And then there’s this:

Notice the name of one of the hosts listed. If the surname “Soros” jumped out at you like a zombie from The Walking Dead, congratulations on being observant along with being horrified. Yes, Jonathan Soros is the son of You-Know-Who, and furthermore, the fundraiser was held in New York City, not in Kansas.

If anyone still thinks that Greg Orman is truly “independent,” then could I possibly interest you in this bridge. . . ?

One week away from the midterm elections, the latest polls between Orman and Roberts are akin to a photo-finish horse race. The winner just might tip the balance of power in the US Senate.

Whoever thought that such political drama could emerge from my boring adopted home state of Kansas?