Washington ? It’s a study in contrast.

Republicans are jockeying to challenge Kansas Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore. Meantime, Moore is keeping a high profile by dressing up to deliver packages and hosting a birthday party for Social Security.

The three-term congressman has 106 appearances on his calendar for August, while Congress is on recess.

“Honestly, the best thing I can do, assuming I run again, is be a good congressman,” Moore said. “And I really believe people feel comfortable with me and think I’m doing a decent, good job.”

He added, “Chances are extremely good I’m going to run again.”

Moore confounds the GOP because he keeps winning in the heavily Republican 3rd District. He represents the Johnson County, Kan., suburbs as well as part of Douglas County, including the eastern half of Lawrence.

His success has much to do with Republican infighting in the area. Twice, his GOP challengers have emerged from bruising primaries that drained their campaign war chests.

Moore spoke by telephone just before playing host to a 68th birthday party for Social Security at a Leawood, Kan., retirement complex. Moore planned to play “Happy Birthday” on his guitar and serve cake made to look like a Social Security card.

Earlier, he donned a brown United Parcel Service uniform to help a UPS driver deliver packages in Kansas City, Kan.

“It’s helpful to keep in touch with people who do that kind of work for a living,” Moore said. “A great majority of the people in this country work at jobs like that. I don’t want to lose touch with that.”

Lightner joins race

Another competitive primary is shaping up in the 3rd District. A third Republican entered the 2004 congressional primary on Thursday: Kansas state Rep. Patricia Lightner.

“I know from experience how to win elections and how to bring people together to get things done in the democratic process. Experience does matter,” Lightner said in a statement.

In an interview, she said her focus in the coming weeks would be on raising money and “getting my players in place” to run her campaign.

Already in the running is Adam Taff, a former Navy fighter pilot who lost the 2002 race to Moore. Moore won 50 percent of the vote to Taff’s 47 percent.

The field also includes Kris Kobach, a former Overland Park City Council member who recently resigned a Justice Department post to run for the seat.

Kobach warns of rematch

Kobach has a message for Republicans backing Taff a second time: “Statistically, rematches don’t work, and Republicans need to realize that.

“In the last election cycle, there were 40 rematches between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “Of those, in 39, the loser the first time lost the second time, often by a larger margin. Using those statistics, there’s a 97.5 percent chance that Adam Taff will lose again.”

Looking for support

They’re running in the Kansas City area, but Kobach and Taff went looking for support in Wichita recently when House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., was in town.

It was a reunion for Taff, who got last-minute help in 2002 from Hastert and a couple of top aides.

“He made a huge difference,” Taff said, explaining how Hastert campaigned for him.

Maintaining those connections “is one of the reasons why I’ve stayed involved and kept my office open this year,” Taff said.

The speaker was headlining a fund-raiser for U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., that brought in more than $113,000, an aide said. Taff held a fund-raiser for Tiahrt recently in Johnson County, and Tiahrt gave Taff a warm introduction at the Wichita event with Hastert. Tiahrt introduced Kobach, too.