Tiahrt, who is well-known for his opposition to abortion, is more in the latter camp. Ties to the social conservative or “pro-life” wing fueled the political emergence of the former airline project manager, first in a win for the state Senate in 1992 and then in his big upset of nine-term Democratic Rep. Dan Glickman in the 4th District House election just two years later.

“If life is an important issue for you, you know that Todd Tiahrt has not only voted right, but has taken action,” said Chuck Knapp, a Tiahrt campaign spokesman.

Knapp cited the Tiahrt Amendment, signed into law in October 1998 as part of a spending bill for international programs. The provision barred U.S. funds from family planning projects in other countries that involved non-voluntary activities such as forced abortion or sterilization.

Tiahrt in the current Congress is a cosponsor of a bill (HR 708) that would restrict assistance to foreign organizations that perform or actively promote abortions. The measure, sponsored by New Jersey Republican Christopher H. Smith , is unlikely to be taken up in a House now dominated by Democrats, most of whom support abortion rights.

Moran, a lawyer and banker, has been more identified as a member of the GOP establishment during a political career that began with a 1989-97 tenure in the state Senate and a stint as majority leader during his last two years in that body.

Moran, nonetheless, is also trying to reach out to the Kansas GOP’s large socially conservative base. According to Burdett Loomis, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, “Moran is making a concerted effort not to get painted as more moderate than Tiahrt. It is fascinating to see him get as far to the right as he possibly can.”

Moran campaign manager Aaron Trost stated, “Congressman Moran’s strong stand against wasteful spending and wasteful earmarks” is a factor that differentiates the candidates. His campaign, casting Moran as an independent voice, cites instances in which his opposition to spending and growth in government exceeded that of the Republican Party’s leadership.

These include three major measures pushed into law by Bush — the overhaul of federal education policy labeled No Child Left Behind (PL 107-110), the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (PL 107-296), and the prescription drug benefit (PL 108-173) for the elderly under Medicare — on grounds that the legislation was too expensive and expanded the government too much.

Moran, benefiting from the hard-wired Republican dominance in the 1st District, easily won his first House contest in 1996 when Roberts left the seat open for his first Senate run. His re-election contests were so one-sided that he was able to pile up $2.4 million in his House campaign account, which federal law allowed him to transfer to his new Senate campaign committee.

With the addition of more than a half-million dollars sent directly to his Senate campaign, Moran showed $2.9 million in cash on hand as of March 31 in his report for the year’s first quarter.

That overshadowed the sizable nest egg of $1.3 million in cash that Tiahrt reported, including $1 million from his House account. But his camp notes that Tiahrt was not able to salt away as big a reserve because he weathered a few competitive Democratic challenges over the years. And that, Tiahrt backers contend, makes him a better-seasoned candidate than Moran.

“He has had several tough campaigns in the past,” said Knapp. “He has a battle-tested team that knows how to deal with adversity.”

Loomis said that’s a view shared by some outside the Tiahrt campaign. “With fundraising right now, Moran is demonstrating decent political skills,” said the longtime observer of Kansas politics. “But a lot of Democrats over the years made the argument that he might run into problems due to his lack of experience running competitive campaigns.”