Tom Daschle’s name came up twice. Dick Gephardt was mentioned once.

But Thursday when Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun came to Lawrence, he never uttered the name of the Democrat he’s actually running against in the 2nd Congressional District  Dan Lykins.

There was no reason for the omission, Ryun said after his appearance at a “Meet the Candidates” luncheon at the Eldridge Hotel.

“I only mentioned Gephardt and Daschle because Gephardt has decided to embrace Republican thinking on tax cuts, and because Sen. Daschle is in control of legislation that is languishing on his desk,” Ryun said.

None of the more than 30 attendees at the luncheon asked Ryun about one of the central theme of Lykins’ campaign: that Ryun is too cozy with big business, particularly Westar Energy.

“His information is always flawed,” Ryun said afterward of his opponent. “I haven’t been able to decide if he’s running against me or against Westar.”

In fact, Ryun said, he sits on the House Financial Services Committee that passed a new bill holding big business CEOs more accountable for violations of company and public trust.

“We’ve passed a very tough law,” he said.

Ryun lives near Lawrence in Jefferson County. Art Clack, a Libertarian from Manhattan, joins Ryun and Lykins, a Topeka attorney, on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. They’re running in the 2nd District, which includes western Lawrence and stretches to the borders of Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Other topics during the luncheon:

 The economy is turning around, Ryun said, aided by his committee’s bill.

“The message is you have to do things in an honest fashion,” he said.

 Daschle, the Senate majority leader, is holding up homeland security legislation the House has already passed.

“It still rests on his desk,” Ryun said. “We’re waiting for the Senate to act.”

 Ryun said his vote to allow President Bush to use military action against Iraq was difficult. Ryun predicted such action would progress much like the war in Afghanistan, with the United States providing close air support to Iraqi troops opposed to Saddam Hussein.

“I think there’s a potential for this to be a very quick conflict,” Ryun said  with the caveat that the war could turn difficult if Saddam ordered the use of biological or chemical weapons at his disposal.

 There are no plans to open a constituent services office in Lawrence, now that the west half of town is in his district. But Ryun touted federal grants he procured for Topeka and military bases in the district as proof of what he can do for the new part of his district.

“Now that you’re in the district, we’ll be working with parts of Lawrence to do what we can for you,” he said.