Republican Keith Noe, of Lecompton, who is challenging incumbent Tom Sloan, of Lawrence, in the 45th House District race, has mailed campaign fliers that suggest Sloan voted against “traditional marriage.”

The ad states that Noe is “a traditional Republican” while “Politician B” is a “RINO,” which stands for Republican in name only.

The RINO voted for tax increases and against traditional marriage, “opening the door to gay marriages in Kansas,” the campaign mailout says.

During the 2004 legislative session, Sloan voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have prohibited same-sex marriage. Sloan has said the proposed constitutional amendment was unnecessary because state law already prohibited same-sex marriages,

Bruce Ney, a Lawrence attorney who supports Sloan, said Noe’s mailout distorted the truth and was “unacceptable.”

But Noe stood by the campaign mailout, saying Sloan’s vote against a proposed constitutional amendment could mean that a state judge could overturn the law. No legal challenge of the law has been filed.

Francisco funds

Democrat Marci Francisco is awaiting the outcome of Tuesday’s Republican Party primary race between state Sen. Mark Buhler and Don Johnson in the 2nd Senate District.

Francisco, who faces no primary opponent, has so far raised $3,425, all in individual contributions, and spent $307, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

Buhler had reported raising $20,716 for the reporting period, which started Jan. 1, and spending $9,128. With funds he raised in 2003, Buhler had $62,556 available just days before Tuesday’s primary.

Johnson had loaned himself $4,340 for the campaign against Buhler, according to the reports.

Petition problems

At an Earth Day event in South Park this spring, Lawrence attorney Martin Miller signed his name to a nominating petition for Charles Branson, a Democratic candidate for district attorney.

Miller says it was nothing more than a gesture to show his support for getting Branson on the ballot. But now that Miller is running for district attorney as a Democratic, Branson is trying to use Miller’s signature against him.

Branson points out that the wording of the form says, “I intend to support” the candidate. Last week he posted the document on his Web site, www.bransonforda.com, under the headline “Miller supports Branson.”

Miller called it a “dirty trick.” He fired back with an article headlined “Branson Continues the Deception” on his own Web site, www.millerforda.com.

Asked whether a person’s signature on a petition binds the signee to support the candidate, a spokesman for Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh said he wouldn’t get into the “semantics of the campaign.”

Branson ended up filing as a candidate by paying a fee instead of submitting the petition signatures.

— Staff writer Scott Rothschild can be reached at (785) 354-4222; staff writer Eric Weslander can be reached at 832-7146.