Topeka ? Rep. Todd Tiahrt is traveling outside his south-central Kansas district for a public meeting on health care.

The event was set for Thursday morning at the Topeka public library.

Tiahrt, an eight-term Republican, is expected to face a receptive audience of people opposed, as he is, to proposals from President Barack Obama.

That was the experience Wednesday of Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a freshman Republican whose eastern Kansas district includes Topeka. Her event Wednesday in Topeka drew more than 200 people, and she received applause for criticizing Obama’s plan.

Tiahrt is running for the Senate next year and faces fellow Rep. Jerry Moran in the August 2010 Republican primary.