Kansas Rep. Dennis Moore To Announce Retirement

By Shira Toeplitz | November 23, 2009 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) is reportedly going to announce today that he won't seek re-election, making him the first Member of Congress this cycle to announce an outright retirement from the House.

The six-term Democrat's departure, which was reported first by the Kansas City Star Monday morning, will leave his Republican-leaning district up for grabs in 2010. Moore's 3rd district seat will no doubt be a top pick up opportunity for Republicans, who have already indicated they plan to target the seat. Several candidates have already expressed interest, including the 2008 GOP nominee Nick Jordan.

Moore has been a perennial target for the GOP but he has always managed to win re-election despite the conservative nature of his district. However, President Barack Obama narrowly won the 3rd district in the 2008 presidential race.

Moore's departure also means that there will be open seat races in three of Kansas' four House districts next year. Reps. Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran are squarring off in the state's GOP Senate primary and therefore not seeking re-election.

Next: Texas Legislator Still Eyes Hutchison Seat, But Seeks Re-election
Previous: SEIU Spends $1 Million Praising Eight House Dems