The congressman stopped short of saying he's definitely running but quickly pointed to in-state issues he'd like to tackle. He's also formed a political action committee to help political allies.
He's being coy about it, but there's a good chance 4th Dist. Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt will run for governor in 2002, or maybe sooner, if current Gov. Bill Graves is tapped for a job in Washington.
But "first, I'm going to get rehired to this job in the year 2000," Tiahrt said during a telephone interview from his Capitol Hill office.
Tiahrt stopped short of an out-and-out announcement of his gubernatorial aspirations.
Instead, he talked about his interest in taking on some in-state issues, specifically mentioning computerized driver's license renewal -- "you can do it on computer in a couple minutes instead of waiting in line for a couple hours" -- and making Kansas a "tax haven" for companies bearing much-needed jobs.
In April, Tiahrt, a conservative Republican, launched Heart PAC, a political action committee aimed at raising money for candidates in the 2000 state legislative races and for candidates in other congressional contests.
Incumbents often use PACs to contribute money to candidates likely to support them in future races or on critical votes.
Heart PAC is separate from Tiahrt's "Todd Tiahrt of Congress" campaign fund. According to Federal Election Commission reports, Tiahrt had $182,187 in his campaign fund on June 30.
Heart PAC had 11 contributions totaling $6,550. State campaign finance laws prevent Tiahrt from using his congressional campaign fund to finance a gubernatorial campaign. That would require setting up a separate fund for the governor's race.
Tiahrt, 48, was elected to the Kansas Senate in November 1992. He was elected to Congress two years later.
Looking back on his five years in Congress, Tiahrt said he's been surprised how much time he spends traveling.
"I'm up to like eight hours a week," he said, noting that he recently used the idle time to read biographies on aviator Charles Lindbergh and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, U.S. commander in the Pacific during World War II.
Tiahrt said he routinely spends every other weekend in Kansas.
Though the list of possible GOP gubernatorial candidates is as long as it is ill-defined, Tiahrt said he doubts that he and 1st Congressional District Rep. Jerry Moran, also a Republican, would run against each other.
"I don't think we'd work against each other," Tiahrt said.
Attempts to reach Moran for comment Monday were unsuccessful.
Kansas GOP Chairman Mark Parkinson, Olathe, said it's too early for incumbents to think about 2002.
"Everybody needs to make sure they win in 2000. Let's get that out of the way first," Parkinson said.
Would-be candidates also need to realize that if Texas Gov. George W. Bush is elected president and if Bush appoints Gov. Bill Graves to a Cabinet position -- in the U.S. Department of Transportation, most likely -- then Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer would, in effect, be a well-established incumbent governor by the 2002 primary, Parkinson said.
"If that happens, all the others are out," he said. "I don't think any of these folks would want to run against an incumbent."
Earlier this month, Graves told Journal-World he would seriously consider offers to join the Bush administration if Bush is elected.
Graves has publicly endorsed Bush's candidacy, as has Tiahrt.
-- Dave Ranney's phone message number is 832-7222. His e-mail is dranney@ljworld.com.
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