Prairie PolitiKS, what an exciting political show we have in Kansas!
Oh Nancy, what a win you had in 2006. You've got a battle coming up in 2008 though. You have the benefits of incumbency and name recognition. KS and national Republicans are aiming for you. Jim Ryun lost because he was an ineffectual and complacent congressman. He hardly came to the district and was a lapdog of Bush. Former Rep. Ryun has already declared to run again. He'll have the support of the most of the Kansas Republican Party since it is controlled by conservatives. The moderate Republicans of Kansas have a candidate in Lynn Jenkins, the Kansas Treasurer. She's definitely the lesser of the two evils and would probably win if she wasn't facing Re-run Ryun.
The firepower of the KRP rests with the conservative wing (ground game) but the money game resides within the Moderate wing. It is going to be a brutal primary between Ryun and Jenkins and that may not be all of the candidates. State Representative Lee Tafanelli (R) might run. Very conservative and would challenge Ryun for the conservative vote, if more than his mom knew who he was. State Senate President Steve Morris is also mulling a run. He's a mod like Jenkins with decent statewide name recognition. If it wasn't for him, the conservatives would be screwing Kansas over terribly so kudos to him for that.
If it is a nasty primary, Boyda will win. If it is quiet, it may be tougher for Boyda to keep her seat. I can almost guarantee that it will be dirty and loud though. Ryun is trying to get his seat back so he will pull out all of the stops and his consultants will be going dirty. He's like a whiny kid who wants his toys back after being grounded (defeated). He needs another good swatting. Boyda should have a good voting record to run on and she sits on two very powerful and important committees to her district (Armed Services and Agriculture). It'll be fun to watch the fireworks from the Republicans battle it out, Boyda can remain positive and it doesn't hurt having Sebelius helping you out.
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