U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts put a signature to documents associated with the mortgage on a Virginia residence that identify the Fairfax County home as "principal residence" of the three-term incumbent Republican.

The re-election campaign of the Kansan has been awash in controversy about whether his ownership of a duplex in Dodge City, which is rented out, and his payment of about $300 a month for a room in a Dodge City supporter's home satisfied legal requirements for public office.

On Wednesday, records surfaced that Roberts signed a Deed of Trust in 1997 and 2003 for property owned in Alexandria, Va., with his wife, Franki, that contained text about a principal residence.

The documents, which include a series of covenants, required Roberts to attest the couple within 60 days of executing the document "shall continue to occupy the property as borrower’s principal residence for at least one year after the date of occupancy."

Corry Bliss, campaign manager for Roberts, said the senator was a fourth-generation Kansan who had possessed a home in Dodge City since the 1970s. The Fairfax County documents are associated with Roberts’ refinancing of his second home about 13 miles south of the nation's capital.

"Sen. Roberts is a Kansan through and through who has made serving his home state of Kansas his life’s work," Bliss said.

He said Roberts’ longevity in Kansas eclipsed that of Greg Orman, the independent candidate for U.S. Senate from Johnson County who operates a business empire worth $21 million to $85 million.

"Greg Orman, on the other hand, has spent the majority of his adult life living, voting and investing in tax shelters, such as Florida and Nevada," Bliss said.

Orman was registered to vote in Florida, and he cast ballots in that state in 2004 and 2006.

Orman's campaign had no comment about Roberts’ residential issue or details of the mortgage records.

Roberts’ primary opponent, tea party candidate Milton Wolf, made the centerpiece of his campaign the question of Roberts’ residency. State elections officials rejected a request to remove Roberts from Kansas ballots, but political consequences of the situation continue to emerge.

USA Today published a story concluding that U.S. Senate records showed Roberts made use of official funds to spend 97 days in Kansas between July 2011 and August 2013. During that period, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., spent official funds to log about 475 days in Kansas.

Wolf produced a commercial indicating Roberts rented "a La-Z-Boy recliner at a donor's house on a golf course."

"Being the landlord of a Kansan does not make you a Kansan," said Wolf, who lost the Republican primary Aug. 5 to Roberts but collected 41 percent of the vote.

While Wolf relentlessly pointed to Roberts as a comfortable Washington insider, Roberts attracted interest in the topic when asked about the frequency of his trips to Kansas. In a gaffe that received great attention he said in an interview, "Every time I get an opponent — I mean, every time I get a chance — I’m home."

Roberts, elected in 1980 to the U.S. House and in 1996 to the U.S. Senate, was compelled to defend himself on the campaign trail as a loyal Kansan.

"Your home is where your heart is, and my heart is in Kansas," Roberts said. "I own property in Dodge City, I pay taxes in Dodge City, I vote in Dodge City, and I’m a legal resident of Dodge City."