Jenkins Appears Headed for Showdown With Boyda
With returns trickling in slowly late Tuesday evening, state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins was maintaining a small lead over former Rep. Jim Ryun in the race for the Republican nomination in Kansas’ 2nd district. Jenkins was ahead of Ryun 52 percent to 48 percent with 644 of 819 precincts reporting. The winner will face freshman Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) in November. Boyda ousted Ryun in the heavily GOP-leaning district in 2006, and Republicans put a bull’s-eye on her almost immediately and have been targeting her ever since. Even before the GOP primary was decided, the National Republican Congressional Committee released a statement pronouncing Boyda’s days on Capitol Hill to be near an end. “Nancy Boyda is going to have to answer for her absymal record on energy, taxes, and military support,” NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said.