Hello my fellow SSPers. As a matter of full disclosure, I should mention that I have recently taken a top-level staff job with the David Haley for U.S. Senate campaign in the state of Kansas.
I am in a quandary. I just reserved a fairly large cable buy in important media markets here in Kansas. As we have been talking about the content of our 30-second ad, I came to the realization that almost every web video I've seen has been better this cycle than production ads (except for Dale Peterson of course). I would like to petition any and all of my fellow SSPers to ask anybody who is interested to submit a 30-second video to my gmail (jeffesparza@gmail.com). My favorite video will be used as an ad in advance of our August 3rd primary (it should be noted that our target audience are primary voters). Our website is under construction and should be up early this week (www.haleyforsenate.com).
I understand that this does not really fall inside the mission of SSP, but as a longtime commenter (and a lurker since long before that), I was hoping that David and James might cut me a little slack.
The rest of this diary is the majority of the content that will be up on our website.
When I first heard that Stephene Moore was running to succeed her husband in Congress, I was really disappointed that we'd put up what I saw as a "Hail Mary" type of candidate in a district where it didn't have to be that way. As someone born and raised in KS-03, it was extra disappointing.
The reaction from friends and family in the area was similar--what the heck do the Moores think they're doing? There were tons of questions--mostly along the lines of why Dennis would "retire from politics" and yet have his wife run? And of course, the wingnuts went crazy with a weird attack that the Moores wanted a second congressional pension and that was why Stephene would subject herself (and her husband) to continued political fire.
But might Stephene Moore turn out to be just the type of candidate we need this cycle to hold the seat? The conclusion I came to might just surprise you...
Kansas Democrats are on their way to presenting the strongest slate of candidates in years with respected businessman Tom Wiggans' announcement that he will run for Governor. Wiggans, a native Kansan, will run against career politician, and well known right-wing Republican, Sam Brownback.
From his bio:
Tom Wiggans is committed to applying his vast business experience to Kansas state government as our next Governor. By utilizing his common sense business practices to bring people together and solve problems, Tom will work with both Democrats and Republicans to pull our state out of the economic recession, ensure we have a stable state budget, and create 21st century jobs for our future.
His campaign has also put together a bio video which you can see here.
More about Tom Wiggans and his campaign below the fold.
In Kansas, redistricting is controlled by the state legislature, with the Governor having veto power. By far the most likely political scenario is that in 2010, Republicans will have a huge advantage in the state Senate (currently 31-9) and a big one in the state House (currently 76-49) and likely a new Governor in conservative Republican Sam Brownback (ugh) unless Democrats find a miracle candidate to take him on.
But one-party control has its downsides: namely, a long-running split between the party's hardcore conservatives and its moderates, who regularly side with Democrats to either make mischief or enact good policy, depending on your point of view. It plays out in the legislature regularly, and in the congressional seats occasionally.
The most recent example is the 2nd District's Nancy Boyda, a Democrat who knocked out the very conservative Jim Ryun in 2006, 51-47. "Moderate" Lynn Jenkins edged out Ryun in the 2008 Republican primaries and was able to bring enough Republicans back into the fold to defeat Boyda 51-46.
Here's the thing: If (conservative) Brownback is elected Governor in 2010, the last thing he'll want to do in 2011-2012 is a pick a fight with legislators over redistricting.
Contradicting that earlier GOP primary poll Tiahrt leads Moran 24-19.
"Yet here we have Gov. Kathleen Sebelius coming in with a solid 56-37 approval rating, including a surprisingly good 42-54 among Republicans, which is important given that Republicans make up half the state's voters. In the head-to-head matchups, Sebelius, gets about a third of those voters. Independents, another quarter of the voter pool, like her at a 63-27 clip. If those numbers held up, she'd make history by having a Democrat represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1939."
Two bits of news out of the Republican Primary for the United States Senate seat Sam Brownback is vacating in 2010.
First, Congressman Todd Tiahrt announced the formation of his campaign steering committee. It includes such Republican notables as State Representatives Kasha Kelly, Lance Kinzer, and Peggy Mast, along with former Speaker of the Kansas House Doug Mays, and Sharon Meissner, who we surmise is the wife of twice-failed Kansas State Board of Education candidate Dr. Robert Meissner.
Lovely, right? I do appreciate they sent the press release directly to the blog, though.
With radical right-winger Todd Tiahrt not running for re-election to the Kansas 4th District seat in Congress in favor of a bid for the United States Senate(probably), we've got another open congressional seat on our hands in Kansas.
With the news Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson will not be running for Governor of Kansas in 2010, all of the political hacks of the state looked at each other and said, "OK, if not Parkinson, who's going to run as the Democratic nominee?"
Speculation fell immediately at the feet of former Minority Leader of the Kansas House of Representatives and current state Treasurer Dennis McKinney.
While McKinney does seem to fit the bill as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, let's assume for a moment he decides to run for the office he now holds, state treasurer, in 2010, rather than launching a run for Governor. Who else might the Democrats nominate?
The Kansas Republican Party Executive Director Christian Morgan said dismissively:
Who do they have that's going to step up?" said Christian Morgan, the Kansas GOP's executive director. "I think they have an incredibly short bench."
It's not the length of your bench that matters, Chris- it's how you use it. One would have thought you'd know that as well as anyone.
As her Republican opponent files the biggest single quarter fundraising report from a Kansas congressional candidate in the state's history, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (D-KS) actually finds herself increasingly more secure in her first re-election bid.
Even with a $681,000 quarter and running in a district that went to George W. Bush by double digits, Republican Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins woke up today to not only still find herself behind in cash-on-hand, but she also had to read that The Cook Political Report had moved the race in the Kansas 2nd out of the "Toss Up" column and into "Leans Democratic."
