Democrat Stephene Moore announced her proposal to clean up Washington last Tuesday as she runs for the Third Congressional District seat in Kansas.
Moore expressed her concern that citizens of the Kansas City and Topeka area were growing wary of politics both at home and at the nation's capitol.
"People have lost faith," Moore said. "There is an overwhelming frustration with people in Washington trying to do well for themselves, not their constituents."
Moore unveiled her plan during a phone conference for the media; the plan included voting to cut congressional pay by 10 percent, reducing government spending and voting to end earmarks and to make it more difficult for persons to become a lobbyist after serving in Congress.
"It's certainly something you see proposed in many campaigns," Dr. Burdett A. Loomis, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, whom specializes in state legislature, said. "Earmarks are now considerably down in this environment."
Moore worked as a nurse in Kansas for 25 years. She doesn't have much of a traditional political past. She is working to replace her husband, Dennis Moore's, seat in Congress.
"I don't care if an idea is a Republican idea or a Democrat idea, as long as it's good for Kansas I'm going to support it," Moore said.
Moore participated in her first debate against both Yoder (R) and Libertarian candidate Jasmin Talbert last Friday, and her second on Wednesday. Her campaign repeatedly refers to Yoder as a "career candidate."
Moore's campaign also states that in 2010 Yoder was the 'top recipient of gifts and meals from lobbyists in the entire legislature'.
"Stephene Moore has lived in Washington D.C. far longer than Kevin has been a state Representative. This is typical Washington politics-creating false labels to avoid talking about the issues," Yoder's campaign manager, Travis Smith said.
"Kevin Yoder has literally spent his entire career in politics," Dr. Loomis said. "Obviously she has been around politics; she has never run for anything, she has done a lot of volunteer work for Johnson County.".
"Kevin believes that Washington is fundamentally broken. It spends too much, taxes too much and regulates too much. Kevin believes in the basic conservative principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility," Smith said. "[He] is committed to creating jobs through private sector growth, cutting spending and reducing our national debt."
Dr. Loomis feels that there are several actions Moore must take in order to win this election.
"In many ways, Stephene Moore has to rebuild the coalition that Dennis Moore built for six elections in the 3rd district. She'll have to draw upon Democrats, Independents and moderate Republicans."