A Little Background
The United States House of Representatives is the second of two chambers of the United States Congress. The total number of U.S. Representatives is 435, with each state's number of Representatives determined by their relative population. Unlike the Senate, Representative terms are only two years. The presiding member of the House is called the Speaker, and they are elected by the members.
While the Senate was designed to protect each state's interests (thus everyone having essentially the same power), the House of Representatives is designed to promote the will of the people, thus its use of population as a measure of power. Also, because of the larger number of Representatives, each Representative's districts tend to be smaller and more homogeneous, making it typically far more partisan than the Senate (with a smaller group to represent, the likelihood of similar interests among the groups is higher, even if they are different from surrounding groups, making conflict much more likely).
Kansas' Representatives in the House
Kansas, because of its small population, has been allocated four members of the House of Representatives. Jerry Moran represents the first district; Nancy Boyda represents the second district; Dennis Moore represents the third district; and Todd Tiahrt represents the fourth district. As you will see, each district represents a very distinct, different demographic. Many times the interests of the citizens of each of these districts is very different.
Kansas Politics Jerry Moran
Jerry Moran represents the First District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Born in Great Bend, Kansas May 29, 1954, Rep. Moran grew up in Plainville Kansas and attended Fort Hays State University and the University of Kansas. Rep. Moran has been a member of the House since 1997.In the time Rep. Moran has been in the House he has demonstrated a very conservative voting record. His slogan is that he "will always put Kansans ahead of the pressures in Washington," and has demonstrated this by opposing No Child Left Behind and the Medicare Reform Package of 2003. Moran also opposed the troop surge in Iraq. Moran is on several committees, including Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veteran's Affairs.
Kansas Politics Nancy Boyda
Nancy Boyda represents the Second District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Born August 2, 1955, Rep. Boyda attended William Jewel College and grew up a Republican before becoming a Democrat in 2003. She has been a member of the House since 2007.Because she is so new there is not a lot of history regarding her voting record. If her campaign is any indication, Rep. Boyda will be a strong opponent of the war in Iraq and school vouchers and a strong proponent of renewable energy and gradual troop withdrawal from Iraq. Rep. Boyda is on the Armed Services Committee and the Agricultural Committee.
Kansas Politics Dennis Moore
Dennis Moore represents the Third District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Born November 8, 1945 in Anthony, Kansas, he attended the University of Kansas and Southern Methodist University and is a former Assistant Attorney General of Kansas.Rep. Moore is a Democrat and has served in his position since 1999. He was the first Democrat elected from that district in 37 years. Moore is on the Budget Committee and the Financial Services Committee. He has a strong Democratic voting record.
Kansas Politics Todd Tiahrt
Todd Tiahrt represents the Fourth District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Born in Vermillion, South Dakota on June 15, 1951, Rep. Tiahrt attended Evangel College and Southwest Missouri State. He worked for Boeing until his election to congress in 1996.A Republican, Tiahrt currently sits on the Appropriations, Intelligence Committees. As would be expected, Tiahrt has traditionally voted along party lines, taking an especially aggressive stance when it comes to offshore drilling in Alaska and other environmental issues. He is also responsible for an amendment which prohibits the ATF from releasing information from its firearms database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency in connection with a criminal investigation.
As you can see, each of the Representatives represents different demographic, political and social groups, making even a consensus in Kansas difficult. Of the four representatives, two are Democrats and two are Republicans. I hope you enjoyed meeting your United States Representatives.
Kansas Politics
