Rep. Jerry Moran is leading Rep. Todd Tiahrt in the GOP Kansas Senate primary, according a polling memo released Wednesday by Moran’s campaign.

Moran has announced he is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Sam Brownback (R), who plans to run for governor in 2010. Tiahrt will likely also run for Brownback’s seat, setting up a contested GOP primary between the two longtime Members.

But Moran’s polling memo showed him leading Tiahrt, 41 percent to 25 percent, with 34 percent undecided in the GOP primary.

The two Congressmen are similarly well-known in Kansas: Moran had 73 percent name recognition, while Tiahrt had 71 percent name recognition among GOP primary voters. The memo also argued that Moran’s higher numbers in the state’s 2nd Congressional district give him the boost statewide.

Moran’s pollster, Glen Bolger of Public Opinion Strategies, conducted the survey of 500 likely Republican voters in Kansas Jan. 13-14. The poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

Democrats are hoping that term-limited Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) runs for the seat in 2010, although she has yet to disclose her plans. If Sebelius doesn’t run, Republicans will be heavily favored to keep Brownback’s seat regardless of who emerges from the primary — Democrats have not won a Senate election in Kansas since the 1930s.