Dennis Warner Moore

Dem-Kan. 3rd District

House Incumbent

Born Nov 8, 1945

Biography

Dennis W. Moore was born in Anthony, and resides in Lenexa, Kan. His father, Warner Moore of Wichita, was active in Democratic politics and a strong supporter of four-term Gov. Robert B. Docking who served, 1967-75. Dennis Moore attended Wichita public schools, graduating in 1963 from Wichita Southeast High School. He attended Southern Methodist University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1967 from the University of Kansas. He received a law degree in 1970 from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. He was an assistant attorney general under then-Attorney General Vern Miller, 1971-73, before entering private practice in Johnson County in suburban Kansas City. He was elected district attorney of Johnson County in 1976, and was re-elected in 1980 and 1984, serving 12 years in the office. He was the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 1986, losing to incumbent Republican Bob Stephan. Moore returned to private law practice, and became a prominent criminal defense attorney in Johnson County. He also was elected to the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees in 1993 and was re-elected in 1997. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1998. Moore and his first wife, Trish, had three children, now grown. He married his present wife, Stephene, in 1990, acquiring four stepchildren.

Profile

Moore made his reputation as district attorney for 12 years of Kansas' second-largest county, Johnson County in suburban Kansas City. In that position, he initiated one of the first victim-witness assistance programs in Kansas; started a program for educating police officers on how to collect evidence to successfully prosecute rape cases; began a program for identifying repeat and violent felony offenders, and co-founded the Johnson County Association for Battered Persons. In 1998, Moore ran for Congress, saying his priorities if elected would be to "save Social Security;" protect medical patients' rights by removing medical decision-making from insurance companies; opposing citizens' rights to carry concealed handguns, and improving education and making college available to all. "The election this year is about one thing: bringing moderate, common sense values to Washington to represent the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas," Moore said. Moore has reiterating those themes in both re-election campaigns, painting himself as an independent who can work with members of both parties. He voted to normalize trade relations between China and the United States, something that angered national labor leaders. Moore also supported "fast track" trade negotiating authority in 2001. Moore has broken several times with party leaders in voting for GOP-sponsored tax cuts, including phasing out the federal estate tax and eliminating the so-called marriage penalty for married income tax filers. He voted for President Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut. But one year later, Moore opposed a bill to permanently extend Bush's tax cuts, which expire after 10 years. He said the country couldn't afford the extension when it was grappling with an economic slowdown and the war on terrorism. Moore serves on the Budget, Financial Services and Science Committees. The American Conservative Union gave his record a 20 percent rating in 2001, while the liberal Americans for Democratic Action said he favored their issues 85 percent of the time.

Campaigns

Dennis Moore won his first bid for public office in 1976, when he defeated Republican incumbent Margaret Jordan by just 1,468 votes out of 106,290 cast to become Johnson County district attorney. He won re-election without opposition in 1980, and beat Republican Steve Schweiker with 61 percent of the vote in 1984 to claim a third four-year term. He did not seek re-election in 1988 after losing the 1986 race for attorney general to incumbent Republican Bob Stephan, who received 53 percent of the vote to claim the third of his four terms as attorney general. Moore returned to the political arena in 1993 when he won election to the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees. He was re-elected in 1997. In 1998, Moore was elected to the U.S. House, unseating Republican Rep. Vince Snowbarger with 52 percent of the vote. In 2000, he was re-elected with 50 percent of the vote in a hard-fought campaign against conservative Republican Phill Kline.

Contact

To reach Dennis Warner Moore or staff in Washington, call 202-225-2865, or in Kansas, call 913-383-2013. Email: dennis.moore@mail.house.gov. World Wide Web: www.house.gov/moore www.mooreforcongress.com.