RACE OF THE DAY — Kan.-03

The surfacing of a 2009 traffic stop has brought some unwanted attention on Kansas House candidate Kevin Yoder.

Yoder, a GOP state lawmaker, refused a preliminary breathalyzer after a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper pulled him over east of Lawrence for going 80 mph in a 70 mph zone on Feb. 8, 2009, the Lawrence Journal-World reported, citing court records.

Yoder’s campaign told the paper he refused the breath test because he took a “field sobriety test, which he passed.”

“He was issued a speeding ticket and then asked to take a preliminary breathalyzer test. He declined because he had passed the sobriety test. Kevin was not driving under the influence. He paid the fine for one citation; the other was dismissed,” Yoder spokeswoman Alissa McCurley told the paper.

Prosecutors dismissed the speeding charge, but Yoder pleaded guilty to refusing to submit to the breath test and had to pay $165 in fines and court costs, court records show.

Yoder’s opponent, Democrat Stephene Moore, seized on the news. Her campaign manager, Matt Sinovic, called Yoder’s actions “irresponsible” and said the incident meant “he is not fit to be a member of Congress.”

With just over a week to go before the vote, it remains to be seen if the story will change the race, which Yoder had been on pace to win.

The 3rd district stretches from suburban Kansas City to Lawrence and was held by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), Stephene’s husband, for 12 years. The congressman announced last November he planned to retire at the end of his current term. Even though his wife jumped into the race, Dennis Moore’s exit paved the way for a tough open-seat race for Democrats.

Before Yoder emerged as the GOP nominee in August, the Kansas Democratic Party tried to soften him up with a Web video playing off the state lawmaker’s surname.

“Have you noticed some of Kevin Yoder’s ads just don’t pass the sniff test?” the announcer says. The ad goes on to say the failed “sniff test” comes from the “Yoder odor.”

The KDP noted that Yoder, who is childless, had appeared with a borrowed family — including pets — in his TV ads.

The ad didn’t make much of a dent as Yoder gained momentum after he won the nomination. He has the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and some of his former primary rivals, including Patricia Lightner, have united behind him in the general.

Meanwhile, Moore has used her TV ads to emphasize her background as a nurse and criticize Yoder for not supporting legislation designed to swap federal funding for schools with higher state expenditures. Yoder has emphasized his opposition to the current level of government spending and sought to tie Moore to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and the Democrats’ unpopular national agenda.

Yoder also had some tricks up his sleeve. He snapped up the domain name stephenemoore.com, which directs Web traffic to a site with a national debt counter and unflattering video clips of Moore. Its banner headline reads, “Stephene ‘No’ Moore: Pelosi approved.”

Moore raised $440,000 in the third quarter, while Yoder raised just under $700,000. According to his pre-general election Federal Election Commission filing, Yoder had over $210,000 banked for the final two weeks of the campaign, while Moore had only some $10,000.