The Democratic president’s administration gave the conservative Republican governor openings with last week’s proposed rule for curbing carbon emissions from power plants and its earlier listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.

The federal government’s actions have stirred up business and agriculture constituencies that lean toward the GOP but aren’t considered as rock solid as abortion opponents or gun-rights enthusiasts.

Brownback and his allies are building a narrative designed to aid the governor’s re-election in his GOP-leaning state that ties Democratic challenger Paul Davis to Obama.

Democrats argue that the tactic is designed to distract voters from questions about Brownback’s record.