The Eye

Barnett will end up the front-runner in the Republican field, predicted Jason Croucher of the political blog Kansas Jackass. The blog is Democratic-leaning - it takes its name from the party's donkey logo - but follows all Kansas politics, and the 1st is so Republican that it's unlikely to draw a serious Democratic takeover bid.

"The fact that he took the 1st District in the governor's race gives him a natural edge," Croucher said of Barnett in a phone interview.

Barnett joins two other politically experienced Republicans in the House primary field. One is fellow state senator Tim Huelskamp. The other is Rob Wasinger, a former chief aide and campaign manager for incumbent Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who is retiring from his current office but appears certain to run for governor in 2010.

The competition could re-ignite the longstanding competition between the conservative activist wing and the "establishment" wing of the Kansas Republican Party. Huelskamp and Wasinger have used their head starts to try to position themselves as the campaign's most conservative candidates. Barnett is likely to be seen as more of an establishment type, who emphasizes economic issues more than hot-button social issues.

This would put Barnett on a trail blazed by outgoing House incumbent Moran. In fact, in a phone interview Wednesday, Barnett called himself a "Jerry Moran conservative" who wants to go to Washington to clean up what he described as a "mess" of fiscal problems and over-regulation.

"There's too much spending, too much taxing and too much barring," said Barnett, who also is a physician. "Congress needs a good dose of Kansas conservative values."

Croucher, who called Huelskamp "one of the most conservative elected officials in Kansas," added, "I wouldn't call Barnett a moderate, but he's definitely more willing to bridge gaps."

Yet Barnett could have competition in the fight for center-right voters, a ground already occupied by the lesser-known Republicans who have entered the House race: businessman Timothy Barker; college instructor Sue Boldra; and commercial real-estate agent Tracey Mann.

Kansas' 1st District, which is mostly rural and takes up 70 percent of the state's landmass, is a solid Republican red. Arizona Sen. John McCain took 69 percent of the district vote as the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, and Moran never earned less than 73 percent of votes in all of his seven House contests.

So far, no prominent Kansas Democrat has announced a bid for the seat.

-- Susannah Clark