State senator to challenge freshman Rep. Jenkins

Freshman Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) will have an opponent in 2010 in state Sen. Laura Kelly (D), who will try to recapture a seat the Democrats won in 2006 and then lost last year.

“Kansas families in the 2nd district deserve a representative who will energetically stand up for their most important concerns – their pocketbooks, their jobs, and their health care – not sit back and block progress in Washington,” Kelly said in a statement.

Former Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.) pulled off a big upset of Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.) in 2006 to briefly capture the seat. Jenkins went on to defeat Ryun in a 2008 primary and then beat Boyda in the general election.

The district should be a tough one to recover if the environment doesn't shift back towards Democrats, but Jenkins has made fallen into some early traps, which could help create an opening.