Although other political races in the state have been quick to shape up this year — including the First District congressional race and the heated campaign for Sen. Sam Brownback’s seat — one particular race has remained quiet. The Third District, represented by the lone Democrat of the Kansas delegation, Dennis Moore, has been slow to gain campaign momentum.

So far, three names have come up as possible Republican candidates for the Third District race — Patricia Lightner, Daniel Gilyeat and Macie Houston.

At the Olathe Republican Party straw poll in July, Lightner received 74 votes, Houston 33 and Gilyeat 30. Houston told Kansas Liberty today she has pulled out of the race.

According to the Federal Elections Commission, Lightner and Gilyeat have not yet filed in the Third District race. Moore’s campaign office confirmed to Kansas Liberty he was planning to run for re-election in 2010. Earlier reports this year cited a newsletter Moore sent to his delegates in which he declared he would be running again for re-election, but no formal announcement has been made.

Moore has received some negative press lately, giving Republicans interested in defeating him an open opportunity to step up and promote themselves. As Kansas Meadowlark reported yesterday, Moore’s constituents are growing increasingly dissatisfied with what they say is his unwillingness to communicate with voters in the Third District.

Though many candidates speak with their constituents in a town-hall setting, where concerned citizens have the opportunity to ask questions directly to their delegate, Moore prefers to speak with Kansans one on one, by answering concerns by letter or, as he demonstrated yesterday, by discussing his positions in radio interviews.

The lack of availability has prompted grassroots groups, including tea party protesters, to show up at Moore’s events to demand more accountability from the Democrat. News reports today said Moore has decided against attending any large public forums because of potential threats he has received, giving constituents even less of a chance to communicate their concerns.

“I would hope someone would take advantage of this time to point out that Congressman Moore is not available to his constituents,” grassroots leader Amanda Grosserode told Kansas Liberty.

Grosserode has been an active organizer of the tea party movement, which fights against government stimulus initiatives and wasteful government spending, as well as legislators, like Moore, who support them.

In addition to angering some members of his district, Moore has also been recently criticized on the national level. The National Republican Congressional Committee named Moore last week as one of the 70 Democrats they will work to defeat in the 2010 elections.

Doris Riley, president of the Sunflower Republican Club, a conservative-leaning group based out of the Third District, said she was "hopeful" this would be the year Moore is defeated.

“We have had some good candidates in the past against Moore who worked very hard and have been very well-funded, but Moore is an entrenched politician,” Riley told Kansas Liberty. “And no matter how you feel about him, he is a very smart politician. You have to give the devil his due on that one.”

Riley pointed out Moore has consistently shown his strong alliance with the Democratic Party in recent years, making Third District Republicans even more unhappy with Moore.

“He is supposed to be a blue-dog, fiscally conservative Democrat, and I could maybe live with that,” Riley told Kansas Liberty. “But the truth is he has voted for every single thing the Democrats have put out since 2006, and the media does not call him out on it. Conservatives have been fed up with him for a long time."

Riley said she was not surprised that more Republicans hadn’t stepped up in the campaign race.

“I think they know what’s ahead of them,” she said. “No one is really going to take him on unless they have a bunch of money and a strong support base.”

Republicans have failed to defeat Moore in the past. In 2008, conservative Republican Nick Jordan unsuccessfully tried to beat Moore out of his sixth term. Jordan received just 40 percent of the votes, while Moore received 56 percent.

Amanda Adkins, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, is confident, however, that the 2010 elections will be different.

"A Republican can absolutely beat Dennis Moore in next year's election,” Adkins told Kansas Liberty. “Congressman Moore votes with Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Leadership 98.1 percent of the time.  He has campaigned for years as a moderate, blue-dog Democrat, but his voting record says otherwise.  The people of the Third District deserve someone more in touch with their values."

But first, they'll have to find a candidate.

Resources

Previously on Kansas Liberty:

GOP targets Moore for defeat
http://www.kansasliberty.com/liberty-update-archive/2009/10aug/nrcc-targets-u-s-rep-moore-for-defeat/

Tea-party protest at Moore’s office –“No Moore Pork”
http://www.kansasliberty.com/liberty-update-archive/2009/02mar/moore-protest/

Meeting constituents a fine art for some, a lost art for others
http://kansasliberty.com/liberty-update-archive/2009/04may/meeting-constituents/

Other:

Kansas Meadowlark report: http://kansasmeadowlark.com/2009/08/11/dennis-moore-constituents-greet-him/

Gilyeat for Congress
http://www.danielgilyeat.com/

Moore for Congress
http://www.mooreforcongress.com/

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