TOPEKA, Kan. - The 2nd U.S. Congressional District has been anything but stable. In 2006, Nancy Boyda (D) defeated incumbent Rep. Jim Ryun (R). After just two years in Washington, Lynn Jenkins (R) defeated Boyda in 2008. 
The district has been in the news in recent months. Jenkins has seemed to take a number of missteps (here, here and here). The Kansas Democratic Party is even tracking Jenkins at a special site, JenkinsFail.com.
Now, we hear that Jenkins has a challenger in the 2010 election. State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) has announced that she wants to reclaim that congressional seat for the Democratic Party.
"Kansas families in the 2nd district deserve a representative who will energetically stand up for their most important concerns - their pocketbooks, their jobs, and their health care - not sit back and block progress in Washington," Kelly said in her announcement.
Will Rep. Jenkins be able to hold onto her seat in 2010?
Kelly isn't wasting any time. She's clearly well out of the starting gate on day one, making distinctions between Jenkins' agenda and her own:
"In the last few months people from all across the district have been urging me to run for Congress. They are tired of leaders tied to a do-or-die narrow partisan agenda that has failed our country for the last eight years. Saying NO is not enough in these challenging times. People deserve common sense answers and real solutions."
We're really excited about having Laura Kelly in the race. It's time for Lynn Jenkins to be held accountable for her particular brand of failure -- Kansans deserve better than another member of the "party of no". If you're interested in helping to elect Democrats like Laura Kelly in Kansas then please click here to make a donation.
Thanks!