Upset in the Works in Kansas? Conservative Kris Kobach may have narrowly defeated liberal Adam Taff in the Republican primary for Kansas' Third Congressional district, which is currently represented by Rep. Dennis Moore (D.). The latest news is that Kobach held an 87-vote lead as Taff-who lost to Moore 50%-47% in 2002-with provisional ballots still uncounted. There will surely be a recount as well. This primary is the latest in the bitter, ongoing war between moderates and conservatives in the Kansas GOP. The two factions are so well-defined and the GOP so dominant in the state that they are, for most purposes, separate parties. It is not uncommon, for example, to see a political yard sign that reads, "Vote Moderate." The result is quite a surprise for Washington conservatives, who preferred Kobach but mostly expected he would lose the primary. Taff had been making the rounds among Washington conservatives for months. As late as July, he was showing off an early April poll that had him leading by 30 points. Meanwhile, Kobach focused on direct mail and targeted phone calls to likely Republican primary voters, and emphasized his pro-life stance. Just by entering the race, Kobach drew Taff slightly to the right, forcing him to adopt a stance against redefining marriage to accomodate homosexual activity. Moore, who represents a Kansas City-area district with a slight GOP lean, is perceived as one of the most vulnerable House Democrats this year. Many Republicans feel that if Taff couldn't knock Moore off in a favorable year like 2002, he has no chance at all. Also, conservatives would like to see one of their own have a chance. Brownback the Liberal? Another unexpected (if inconsequential) result in Kansas' primary yesterday was an upset of the favorite in the Democratic primary to challenge conservative Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.), the de facto leader of pro-life social conservatism in the U.S. Senate. No one expected Brownback to have a real race on his hands this November anyway, but the Democrats overwhelmingly nominated an astonished Robert Conroy, a former railroad engineer who is reportedly a devout Tridentine Mass Catholic and may be more conservative than Brownback. Conroy, who took 56% of the vote, said he had only gotten into the race so that Brownback would have an opponent-it appeared at one point that he might run uncontested. "I didn't campaign," Conroy said when informed he had won the primary in a landslide. "I didn't have any money. Maybe they counted the votes wrong or something." Conroy defeated the party favorite and perceived frontrunner, Lee Jones, a former union lobbyist and railroad worker who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1990. One-Term Bob Republicans had to be somewhat disappointed that Missouri Gov. Bob Holden (D.), who barely edged now Sen. Jim Talent (R.) for the governor's job in 2000, was defeated in the Democratic primary yesterday. Holden was clearly on his way to defeat, either in the primary or the general election, as weakness and incompetence characterized his term in office. The nadir of his administration came in September 2003, when three of his vetoes-on an abortion waiting period, concealed carry weapons permits, and gun manufacturer liability laws-were overridden by the state legislature in the space of 72 hours. This came thanks to huge Republican gains in the legislature in 2002. Holden, strongly desirous of a tax hike the legislature refused to support, then took the incredible risk of holding this year's education budget hostage. Claiming that the state budget would otherwise go into deficit, he impounded $250 million in mostly education funding that the legislature had already approved. Holden believed the move would arouse voters' ire against Republican legislators for refusing to hike taxes. He proceeded to deliver an embittered State of the State address in January, accusing Republicans of making "cruel" cuts in education spending and "doing real and lasting harm to our children and seniors." Republican legislators grew increasingly angry as they listened, until one was so fed up he actually interrupted the governor's speech, shouting "Release the money, governor!" In subsequent months, the GOP refused to budge on tax hikes, yet state revenues increased with Missouri's growing economy, creating a budget surplus. Holden, suddenly appearing even more foolish than before, was forced to release the funds. His sound six-point defeat at the hands of State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D.) means that Secretary of State Matt Blunt (R.), the Republican nominee, will not be able to campaign against Holden's incompetence. Blunt, the son of House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R.-Mo.), easily coasted to the Republican nomination with 88% of the vote. He is favored to win in November. Marriage on the Ballot A constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage was on yesterday's ballot in Missouri, and the results demonstrate what many conservatives have suspected all along - the issue matters to a lot of people. It's not just that the measure passed with an overwhelming 71% of the vote. According to the Missouri Secretary of State's website, more primary voters actually voted on the initiative (one way or the other) than on any other statewide race. There were 38,000 more votes on the Marriage Definition than on the gubernatorial race (all parties combined), despite the hot Democratic race that brought down Gov. Holden. The marriage amendment won in every single county in the state and lost narrowly only in St. Louis.
