Senator Bill Koch D-KS

In 1996, Bill Koch was floated as a potential Democratic Candidate for Senate in Kansas. At the time, after Bob Dole, Koch was the most famous Kansan in the country. He was widely liked in the state, having flaunted his wealth with a lot of public philanthropy (a lot of which was to annoy Charles, whom he disliked and who actually gave a lot more to charity but generally kept quiet about), taken the lead in setting up a crime commission, befriended the Democratic Governor, and even dated the Democratic AG.

What if Koch had won the 1996 election for Senate in Kansas.

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Koch would have been fighting uphill against the establishment in Kansas politics. The Republican party would not give up on Bob Dole's seat in the Senate very easily and the candidate that election, Sam Brownback, had been the Secretary of State. With Dole running at the head of the ticket and a successfully elected state-wide office holder set up as his replacement, Koch would have had to dump a whole lot of him money into the bid and may not have made a dent into the Republican base out in Western Kansas, where knowledge of wheat, soybean and other commodity prices means more than philanthropy.
 
Koch would have been fighting uphill against the establishment in Kansas politics. The Republican party would not give up on Bob Dole's seat in the Senate very easily and the candidate that election, Sam Brownback, had been the Secretary of State. With Dole running at the head of the ticket and a successfully elected state-wide office holder set up as his replacement, Koch would have had to dump a whole lot of him money into the bid and may not have made a dent into the Republican base out in Western Kansas, where knowledge of wheat, soybean and other commodity prices means more than philanthropy.

Koch, after leaving Koch enterprises, started his own very successful energy firm. I could see him being able to campaign out there.
 
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