Political Campaigns
Moore was first elected to the United States House in 1998, defeating the Republican incumbent, Vince Snowbarger. The district had traditionally elected moderate Republicans, but Snowbarger's unyielding conservatism caused many voters to shift to Moore. He thus became the first Democrat to represent the district in 37 years, after Democrat Newell A. George lost re-election to Republican Robert Fred Ellsworth, when it was the 2nd District. (It has been the 3rd District since 1963.)
The Republicans put up another conservative, state Representative Phill Kline, in 2000, and Moore narrowly held on to his seat, taking 50% of the vote. His margin of victory was fairly close due to George W. Bush's strong performance in the district. In 2002, he faced another close race, this time against moderate Republican Adam Taff, an airline pilot. In 2004, Moore defeated law professor Kris Kobach, another conservative, in the general election, with 55% of the vote. Kobach had unexpectedly defeated Taff in the Republican primary, effectively handing Moore another term.
In the 2006 Congressional election, Moore successfully defended his seat against Republican Chuck Ahner, winning with 64% of the vote, a much larger margin than he had in the past.
In August 2007, Republican state Senator Nick Jordan of Shawnee announced he would challenge Moore for the 3rd District seat in 2008. Moore defeated Jordan by a vote of 56% to 40%.
On November 23, 2009, it was reported that after six terms, Dennis Moore would not seek re-election in 2010, when he would turn 65 years old. Moore's wife, Stephene Moore, was the Democratic nominee. She lost the election to Republican state Representative Kevin Yoder.
Read more about this topic: Dennis Moore
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