KMBC TV Political Blog
Jerry Moran and the “Big First”
Michael Mahoney
Jerry Moran’s large, but not very populated First District has delivered him to the doorstep of the United States Senate.
Moran survived a stiff challenge from Wichita area Congressman Todd Tiahrt because of his firewall in his home district.
There may not be a lot of people in the district, but they vote. It is part of the civic culture. So when their boy Jerry launched the campaign, part of the strategy was to protect him with strong margins from the First District
Look at this, in Geary County, where Junction City is, Moran beat Tiahrt 2-to-1. Their vote was delayed by power outages. That contributed to the late night.
In Saline, that’s Manhattan, it was also 2-to-1 Moran.
In Bob Dole’s home county of Russell, it was 3-to-1.
The Big First was peppered with results like that Tuesday night, Moran with 67% from Ford County. While Moran only got 488 votes in Trego County. That was 88% of them.
Todd Tiahrt came on strong and tough at the end. Voters may not have cared for the hard-hitting Tiahrt advertising blitz, but they listened to it, and apparently considered it.
Tiahrt’s endorsement from the Kansas Rifle Association probably helped his turn out, too. The Wichita Congressman’s ground game was almost good enough. Tiahrt beat Moran in the 3rd district in the Kansas City suburbs. Both men competed heavily for that vote. Tiahrt took it by 5 points.
Remember, as late as Monday night, pollsters, and Moran;s campaign, thought they had the race in the bag. As recently as Monday in Overland Park, Moran was bragging about a “double-digit lead” in a Wichita TV station’s poll. That was the tightest spread in the SurveyUSA’s entire work on the campaign. The lead had dropped from 20. to 14, to 10 in two weeks.
Another poll, with Moran connections, taken Monday night had him at a 7-to-8 point spread.
In the end, it was five. That’s deceptively large number, because much of the night as the results came in it seemed neck and neck.
But late Tuesday night, the Big First came in for their boy Jerry.
