Moore wins race for U.S. Rep. in 3rd congressional district

By Haley Jones

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Alyssa Thompson, a first-time voter, voted for U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) yesterday, because he voted in support of education.

“My mom is a teacher, and I’m a student, so he definitely supports the things I care about,” said Thompson, Shawnee Mission South High School senior, who was at the Johnson County democratic watch party at the Ritz Charles banquet hall in Overland Park.

photo

Associated Press

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) defeated Nick Jordan to retain his seat as representative of Kansas' 3rd District.

Moore won the race for U.S. representative in the 3rd congressional district of Kansas with 56 percent of the vote, beating Kansas Sen. Nick Jordan (R-Shawnee), who earned 40 percent of the vote.

Thompson, 18, said she felt excited to vote in such a historically important election. She said she wanted to vote for Moore because his views on the financial rescue plan aligned with her family’s.

“If he wouldn’t have won, I would’ve felt less confident about my education and my economic future,” she said.

As the results of Barack Obama’s victory against John McCain in the presidential election appeared on the big screen of the Ritz Charles, Moore stepped onto the stage to inform the crowd of the most recent results from the polls; Moore was leading Jordan at 59 percent to 38 percent with 98 percent of the precincts reporting.

Moore said the student vote was important to him and that his voting record proved his personal beliefs on the value of education. He said Jordan voted 19 times against funding education and said that kind of record did not sit well with voters.

“Besides unconditional love, I think a good education is the best thing we can give our children,” he said.

This will be Moore’s sixth term in the district. He was first elected as a U.S. Representative in 1998. Although Moore is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which is a group of fiscally conservative democrats, he was the only Kansas congressman to vote for the $700 billion rescue plan.

Lisa Nelson, Johnson County resident, has volunteered for Moore’s campaign for the past 10 years. Like many others at the Democratic watch party Tuesday night, Nelson said the economy was the most important issue to her in this election.

She said Moore’s long history of public service and his reputation as a moderate Eemocrat secured her vote for him.

“We really do need Dennis Moore — all his experience and seniority,” she said. “Issue-wise he’s a much better candidate.”

Moore’s appeal spanned beyond the young voter.

Anthony Villegas, 68-year-old resident of Kansas City, Kan., said he voted for Moore because he represented the veterans, retirees, middle class and upper-class citizens.

“That’s the kind of person we need here in Kansas City, Kansas,” he said. “I voted for him today, and tomorrow I would vote for him again.”

— — Edited by Becka Cremer

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Advertisement