Jerry Moran had little trouble winning his congressional seat and almost no trouble in keeping it.
That's in sharp contrast to his first race for the Kansas Senate in 1988, when he defeating a 16-year Democratic incumbent by only 141 votes out of nearly 27,000 cast. He was unopposed for re-election in 1992. Moran served as Senate majority leader in 1995-96.
In 1996, 1st District congressman Pat Roberts gave up a safe GOP seat to run for the U.S. Senate. Moran won a three-way Republicanprimary, then received 74 percent of the vote in the general election against Democrat John Divine.
Moran faced a Democratic opponent in the general election in 1998 but he received 81 percent of the vote. He faced no major partyopposition in 2000 or 2002.
In 2001, Moran was considered the leading Republican candidate for governor, someone who could unite moderates and conservatives. However, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he decided to run for re-election to Congress, saying, "Every generation has an opportunity to leave alegacy," he said then. "If we can leave a legacy that the world is a safer place, that would be a good thing for the generation I'm part of."
He finished the first quarter of 2004 with nearly $784,000 in cash on hand in his campaign treasury, likely more than enough to scare off any serious challenge.
