Topeka ? In what may be a first in Kansas political history, one candidate publicly called another “babe.”

It happened Tuesday in the televised debate between Lynn Jenkins and Jim Ryun, who are seeking the Republican Party nomination to face U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes west Lawrence.

Jenkins said part of the reason she voted for a tax increase while a legislator was because state lawmakers had to pay for federal mandates from Congress, in which Ryun served at the time.

“We were at your mercy, babe,” she said to Ryun.

A couple of bloggers wrote that if Ryun had said “babe” to Jenkins, he would’ve been labeled a sexist.

Ryun’s campaign manager Kyle Robertson described Jenkins’ use of the term as “childish behavior.”

Pat Leopold, managing Jenkins’ campaign, said Jenkins uses “babe” frequently when talking to her friends, and that it was just an innocent slip.