what was the matter with Kansas?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3478.html
GOP Could Face Struggle to Regain Ground, Uproot Democrats in Kansas By: Josh Kraushaar and David Mark April 10, 2007 04:25 PM EST
Kansas state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins this week entered the race to
challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda, setting up a
potentially divisive Republican primary between Jenkins and former
representative Jim Ryun.
Jenkins’ candidacy comes as Democrats have experienced increasing
success in the once solidly Republican Sunflower State. Two former
Republican state chairs switched parties in 2006 — and won their
respective statewide elections as Democrats. Democratic U.S. Rep.
Dennis Moore avoided serious competition for the first time in his
five-term House career. And Gov. Kathleen Sebelius easily won
reelection amid Republican squabbling between candidates representing
the moderate and conservative wings of the party.
The House primary, scheduled for August 2008, may mirror these
longstanding intramural GOP conflicts, which in a sense have turned
Kansas into a three-party state made up of Democrats, moderate
Republicans and conservative Republicans.
Ryun, who touts his conservative bona fides, lost to Boyda in a race
few analysts expected to be competitive. He also was criticized by
fellow Republicans for getting a late start to his campaign and
underestimating his opponent, whom he had defeated by 15 points in
the previous election cycle.
“Most people say he ran a very poor campaign,” said a state
Republican official. “He was not in the district much.”
Jenkins cruised to a second term as state treasurer last year and is
hoping to use her statewide popularity and name recognition to blunt
Ryun’s comeback bid. Jenkins hails from Shawnee County, the area
where Boyda performed strongest in 2006. She also is an alumna of
Kansas State University, another population base in the district.
“We haven’t had two heavyweights in a primary like this — two very
well-respected officials,” said Kansas Republican Party Executive
Director Christian Morgan. “They’ve been around a long time, they
understand what it takes. They understand you don’t need to run a
nasty primary.”
But the ideological fissures are already emerging. The fiscally
conservative Club for Growth, which often endorses candidates in GOP
primaries, is casting a wary eye toward Jenkins and her record in the
state legislature from 1999 to 2002. Club Executive Director David
Keating said her record is “not something that looks terribly good.”
“She looks more like a moderate or a liberal on fiscal issues,” said
Keating. “We haven’t made any final conclusions, but the early poking
around gives us a lot of cause for concern.”
He cited Jenkins’ vote ratings from the Kansas Taxpayers Network, an
anti-tax interest group that tracks tax votes in the state
legislature. Jenkins often scored below 50 percent in the group’s
annual ratings.
Jenkins also calls herself a moderate on social issues. According to
her spokesman, she largely supports abortion rights but opposes
abortions during the third trimester.
By contrast, Ryun was ranked as the most conservative congressman by
National Journal during his last year in Congress. In an interview
with The Politico, he touted his conservative voting record during
his decade in Congress. He said his positions are consistent with the
district, which he characterized as fundamentally conservative.
Ryun, who once earned national fame as a high school and Olympic
runner, said he is unfazed by the primary challenge from Jenkins.
“I’ll be able to define myself with my record in Congress,” he said.
Ryun also has been touting his first-quarter fundraising numbers for
2007, which he released this week. His campaign announced he raised
about $275,000 in the first quarter, with $255,000 cash-in-hand.
“The support our campaign has received from the people of Kansas has
been tremendous,” Ryun said in a release. “Our numbers clearly show
my base is reenergized and the 2nd District wants a leader in
Congress who will provide vision, inspiration and a belief in a
common purpose.”
Ryun said his loss in 2006 was an anomaly because of the high
negatives associated with Republican candidates across the nation. He
said Republicans will run strongly in Kansas in 2008, led by the
Republican presidential nominee and the announced reelection bid of
Sen. Pat Roberts, a popular statewide figure.
The National Republican Congressional Committee considers Boyda one
of the most vulnerable Democratic members and has been targeting her
since she was sworn into office.