Spotlight on the KS 3rd Congressional District

Republican Winner, Kevin Yoder
Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, located in the northeastern portion of the state, encompasses Wyandotte and Johnson Counties (home of Kansas City) and portions of Douglas County (home of Lawrence where the University of Kansas is located). In the reapportionment and redistricting of 2002, the city of Lawrence was divided in half with District 2 absorbing the western half. Although agriculture is a major employer in other regions of Kansas, not so here. Instead, management, professional, sales and office occupations comprise the bulk of the workforce. In the past three presidential elections, the voters of Kansas 3rd twice selected George W. Bush by double digits yet gave Barack Obama a three point margin over John McCain. Although the 3rd is considered a Republican leaning district, Democrat Dennis Moore has served as the representative since 1999. He was the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1958 when the district was numbered the 2nd. Moore announced his retirement in late 2009. At that time, Democrats were confident they would keep the seat, but soon backtracked after they failed to recruit a high-profile candidate. After six months of casting about unsuccessfully, Democrats persuaded Moore’s wife, Stephene, to run. It’s difficult for a wife to distance herself from the policies of her husband and Stephene found herself in the unenviable position of defending Dennis’ votes for the ineffective stimulus, National Energy Tax, and Obama health care plan. Moore was a ripe target for Republican candidate Kevin Yoder, State Representative and Attorney, who won the seat in a rout, 59% to 38%. Yoder has a proven track record of standing tall for fiscal responsibility. He stood up to Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson and presented a proposal that would have balanced the state budget without raising taxes.
Kevin Yoder
  • Graduate, Political Science/English, Univ. of Kansas, 1999
  • JD, University of Kansas, 2002
  • Special Assistant, Department of Defense, Office of Counternarcotics, 2001
  • Associate, Speer and Holliday, Limited Liability Partnership 2003
  • Partner, Speer and Holliday, Limited Liability Partnership, 2005-present
  • Representative, Kansas State House, 2003-present
  • Member: American Council of Young Political Leaders, Kansas Bar Association, Order of Omega, Overland Park Rotary Club, Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Fraternity, Univ. of Kansas Athletics Corporation Board of Directors
  • Board of DIrectors, Johnson County Bar Assoc., Kansas City Univ. of Kansas Alumni Assoc.
  • Former President, Kansas Union Memorial Corp. Board of Directors
  • President, Lambda Chi Alpha Corporation Board at Univ. of Kansas
  • Former President, Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Society and Student Bar Association
  • Student Body President, Univ. of Kansas

ISSUES

  • In Congress, I will be a vocal opponent to wasteful, deficit spending.  I have cut more spending than any other Appropriations Chair in Kansas history and was the lead sponsor of a bill to place a debt ceiling on Kansas borrowing – I have led on reducing government debt in Kansas and will do the same in Washington.
  • I fundamentally understand that the money spent in Washington is not the Government’s money, but your money, and the best way to return people to work and get our country’s finances back in order is to grow our economy. You grow the economy by allowing individuals, entrepreneurs and small businesses to keep and reinvest more of their hard earned profits.
  • The best way to turn around the economy and build private sector jobs is to get Washington off the backs of small businesses that create 7 out of every 10 new jobs in the United States.  You do this by cutting taxes and spending across the board and by encouraging investment with targeted economic development initiatives.
  • I support making healthcare more affordable for all Americans. But what I can’t support are pieces of legislation rammed through Congress that will raise our taxes, increase insurance premiums, and promise to make drastic cuts in Medicare. Americans deserve better than this bill. I will work to re-write this act and build true health care reform that focuses on free market competition, patient choice and high quality of care.

 

"I am running for Congress because we need fresh leadership for a new Washington.  Small reforms are not good enough with a system as damaged as Congress is right now. Sending the same politicians to Washington to “go along to get along” and to play the political game will keep getting us the same results. As your Congressman, I pledge to rein in wasteful spending, fight against tax increases, promote legislation to build jobs, and work to repeal harmful portions of the Obama/Pelosi Healthcare Bill.  Send me to Washington and you will see results."
Getting Kansas Back to Work, Kevin Yoder for U.S. Congress New T.V. Ad
The Spotlight On reports are overviews of actual Republican primary winners or top Republican primary contenders. Spotlights should not be interpreted as recommendations to support specific candidates. Before supporting any candidate, do thorough research to confirm that the candidate shares your views on issues you deem most important.