
Ryun will challenge Boyda in 2008, but he may have GOP competition
Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Former Rep. Jim Ryun (R)(KC Star) Kansas GOP picks leader: Former U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun said he was planning to run again in 2008. Nancy Boyda, a Democrat, defeated Ryun in November. Also considering the race is state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, who said a number of supporters have encouraged her to run.Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(Fox News Sunday) Sen. Sam Brownback on ‘FOX News Sunday’: CHRIS WALLACE, HOST:Joining us now from Kansas to talk about the campaign and the war in Iraq is presidential candidate and Senator Sam Brownback. Senator, you’re one of the Republicans who oppose the president’s new policy to surge troops into Baghdad. Will you support — will you vote for — the resolution introduced by Senator John Warner to state that opposition? SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: That’s the resolution that I find most appealing. It’s one that talks about a path forward. I think we need to start talking about what we’re for and not what we’re against. And that resolution also contains a lot of the Baker-Hamilton- type of thought and language about how we move to a political solution regionally, inside Iraq, and in the countries in the area, and also a political solution here. WALLACE: But let me ask you directly. Are you going to vote for the Warner resolution? BROWNBACK: I’ll be supporting John Warner’s resolution. (Hutch News) Who makes the call?: If U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback becomes president, how would his congressional seat be filled? Some Republicans might not like the answer. A few days after Brownback announced his run for the White House earlier this month, state Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha, introduced a bill that would change how the state fills a vacant U.S. Senate seat. State law calls for the governor to make a temporary appointment until the next election for U.S. House of Representatives, which occurs every two years. If Brownback were to resign, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius would be the one to select his replacement under current law. But in a bill proposed by Pyle, a Senate vacancy would be filled the same way as a U.S. House vacancy, by a special election called by the governor.Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(Topeka Capital-Journal) In minority, Roberts adjusts, hopes for 3rd term: In another sense, Roberts could have drawn a parallel to himself. Now in his 27th year as a representative of Kansas in the U.S. House or Senate, Roberts has proven his ability to adapt to the shifting political scene in Washington. He is a survivor of 10 campaigns. And, now, he wants more. Roberts, 70, said he will seek re-election in 2008 to a third term in the Senate. Nobody has signed on to oppose him. “I think we can still make a difference,” he said in an interview surrounded by Chinese paintings at Washburn University’s Mulvane Art Museum. “We’ve enjoyed a strong partnership with the people of Kansas. I want to continue that partnership.”