Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Dave Lindstrom is running for a United States Senate seat in Kansas.
The 64-year-old played college football at Boston University before the San Diego Charges selected him in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL Draft. He signed with the Chiefs a year later, playing 118 games over eight seasons in Kansas City before his NFL career came to a close.
Lindstrom, who lives in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, has since worked in local real estate and owned and operated four Burger King franchises. He also served on the Johnson County Commission, and is currently chairman of the Kansas Turnpike Authority and chairman of the board of the Kansas Leadership Center, a nonprofit located in Wichita.
Lindstrom is running for the seat currently held by GOP Senator Pat Roberts, who is not seeking re-election in 2020 after serving nearly four decades in congress. At his campaign launch event on Thursday in Goodland, the Republican candidate attacked Democrats and pledged fealty to President Donald Trump, whose approval rating at this point in his administration is lower than any other since President Jimmy Carter's, according to FiveThirtyEight.
“With Democrats hell-bent on unraveling President Trump’s agenda, it is critical that Republicans hold Sen. Roberts’ seat,” Lindstrom said, per John Hanna of the Associated Press.
At least 15 potential candidates have expressed in running for the seat soon to be vacated by Roberts, the AP reports. Though most of those broaching a run are Republicans, Democrats enjoyed unexpected success state-wide in 2018, flipping Kansas' governorship and the third congressional district from red to blue.
Republicans currently hold the Senate by a majority of 53 to 47.