WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s challenger in the Kansas Republican primary sees a national GOP agenda behind a Washington-area group’s

television and radio ads praising the governor.

Jennifer Winn’s campaign manager says the Alliance for Freedom ads are designed to save Brownback so the national GOP doesn’t have to rethink strategy for the 2016 presidential election.

The alliance’s ads began last week and run through the Aug. 5 primary. The group’s president is a veteran GOP consultant.

Winn campaign manager Mike Shatz notes that Brownback has described his state as a lab for conservative fiscal policies that can be emulated elsewhere.

But the ads focus on a proposed coal-fired power plant and Brownback’s support for it. Alliance board member Ned Ryun says they’re designed to build opposition to federal environmental regulations.