Every election cycle since 1998 the Dennis Moore campaign solicits “Republicans” to support his congressional bid even though he’s a Democrat. 2008 was no different and Moore’s web site asked for “Republicans” to support Democrat Moore for Congress.
The 2008 “Republicans for Moore” list appeared in the Olathe Daily News and the Johnson County Sun newspapers, and perhaps others (see below). What is known politically about this group?
Republicans for Moore 2008
The political “celebrity” names from above include:
- James Concannon: possibly former dean of Washburn School of Law (unless name is for a Democrat from Leavenworth County)
- James and Mary Ca Ralstin, Republican precinct committee members elected in Aug 2008 from Shawnee 4-5; Mary Ca was also Republican candidate for State Board of Ed District 2. The Ralstin’s 19-year old daughter, who is a registered Republican, had a spare $50 and gave it to Democrat Pete Roman for State Senate on Oct 8, 2008, according to Roman’s Oct 31 amended report . Their daughter also wrote a check (I’d love to see that check) giving $100 to Pete Roman on Aug 15, 2008.
- Liz Craig, former Mainstream Board member, for president Kansas Citizens for Science
- Morris Wise, husband of political activist Jean Wise, who has served on the Mainstream Advisory Board
- Ruth Kline, wife for former State Rep Phil (single “L”) Kline, and former Mainstream Coalition Advisory Board
- Steve Baru, MAIN*PAC Co-Chair (2006-2007); Republican candidate for Senate 37 against Jeff Colyer in Aug 2008 primary.
- Steve Cook, precinct committeeman elected in Aug 2008; husband of Kathy Cook, a Democrat who is Executive Director of Kansas Families for Education, and who recently had six signs in their yard for democratic candidates.
The RFM8 names in the above ad are in alphabetical order by first name (with a few exceptions). Two names above are duplicated, and five names were likely misspelled.
For some reason no Republican for Moore in 2008 had a first name starting with any letter past “T”, but at least 32 RFMs from previous years had a first name starting with “W” (e.g., Wendy, William, Wayne).
The RFM8 names were compared to current voter registration and other political data for matches. 29 names above could not be matched, but 237 did match. This process of matching is statistically accurate but is not perfect.
What is known politically about these “Republicans for Moore”?
235 RFM8s were from the 3rd Congressional District, while 2 appear to be from the 2nd Congressional District.
Five of the “Republicans for Moore” were actually Democrats. Perhaps these voters feel they are “Republican” in spirit regardless of how they are registered.
The breakdown by gender shows 123 females and 114 males.
The median age of the RFM8 class is 67 years old (mean = 66.1) with 25% of the group younger than 58, and 25% of the group older than 75. The middle 50% ranges from 58 to 75 years old.
See the histogram of Republicans for Moore in 2008, which shows the number of RFMs by each 5-year age group:
Are RFMs relatively new voters, or old-time voters? The median number of years registered of RFMs is 20 years (mean = 22.4), so these older voters have been in Johnson County for quite some time. The histogram below shows the number of RFMs for each 5-year interval of years registered:
Most popular cities for RFM8s:
Top 10 Cities for Republicans for Moore, 2008
| City | Count |
| Overland Park | 76 |
| Leawood | 31 |
| Prairie Village | 26 |
| Shawnee | 22 |
| Lenexa | 20 |
| Olathe | 16 |
| Mission Hills | 8 |
| Lawrence | 8 |
| Merriam | 7 |
| Mission | 5 |
The 237 RFM8s have connections to a variety of liberal groups:
Political groups sharing membership with Republicans for Moore
| Political Group | Count |
| Republicans for Moore 2004 | 163 |
| Republicans for Moore 2002 | 101 |
| Republican for Moore 2000 | 57 |
| Mainstream Coalition | 26 |
| Kansas Alliance for Education | 10 |
| ProKanDo | 4 |
| Kansas Traditional Republican Majority | 4 |
| Kansas Families for Education | 4 |
| League of Women Voters | 3 |
| KNEA / NEA | 3 |
| Kansans for fairness | 3 |
| Neil Sader for Mayor in 2005 | 2 |
Notes:
- Republicans for Moore from 1998 and 2006 are not included in the above analysis.
- Connection to above groups in many cases was not from 2008.
Republicans for Moore from 2008 are known to have made political contributions to the following (partial list):
- David Adkins for Attorney General
- Barbara Allen for Senate
- Biggs for Attorney General
- Blue Valley First
- Bluestem Fund PAC (Kathleen Sebelius)
- Emanuel Cleaver for Congress
- Kansans for Lifesaving Cures
- Kansas Alliance for Education
- Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE)
- Kansas Traditional Republican Majority
- KNEA / NEA
- John Kerry for President
- Mainstream Coalition and/or MAIN*PAC
- Dennis Moore for Congress
- Paul Morrison for Attorney General
- Pete Roman for State Senate
- ProKanDo PAC
- Gene Rardin for State Rep
- Sebelius for Governor
- Think Big (bistate tax)
- John Vratil for Senate
- YesYesYes (to hide party affiliation on county elections)
Related:
- Republican Precinct Committeeman has SIX signs for Democrats in yard?, Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 7, 2008.
- Kansas Democratic Party’s “Loyalty Committee,” Kansas Meadowlark, July 30, 2008.
- Steve Baru seeks public trust in State Senate race but forged customer signatures!, Kansas Meadowlark, July 20, 2008.
- “Republican for Moore” Mary Ca Ralstin runs for State Board of Ed but supported teacher busted with marijuana?, Kansas Meadowlark, July 24, 2008.
- “Republican for Moore” Running for Kansas Senate as a Republican, Kansas Meadowlark, June 11, 2008.
- Republicans for Moore — the last five election cycles, Kansas Meadowlark, Feb 28, 2007.
- Republicans for Moore 2006, Kansas Meadowlark, Nov 2, 2006.
- Political Profile of “Republicans for Moore”: Legitimate, Chicanery, Election Mischief, or Fraud?, Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 24, 2004.
- “Republican for Moore” Allowed to Ask Question During Moore-Kobach Debate?, Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 17, 2004.
- “Republican for Moore” Supports Partial Birth Abortion, Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 17, 2004.
