Topeka ? Kansas Republicans’ biggest annual meeting is giving the candidates in a hotly contested congressional race the chance to stump.

State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins and former Congressman Jim Ryun are seeking the party’s nomination in the 2nd Congressional District of eastern Kansas.

Ryun held the seat for 10 years before being unseated in 2006 by Democrat Nancy Boyda.

He told GOP activists from the 2nd District that he isn’t running for himself but to bring the seat back to the GOP. He said he worked hard as a congressman on issues Kansans care about, such as reducing taxes.

But Jenkins told the same activists that the Republican Party needs new blood if it is to unseat Boyda.