Adam Michael Taff
Rep-Kan. 3rd District
House Challenger
Born Feb. 28, 1965
By The Associated Press
Biography
Adam Taff spent a decade as a Navy fighter pilot, then returned home in 1999 to Lake Quivera, Kan., to be a commercial pilot for United Airlines. He remains a Navy reservist.
Profile
Adam Taff said the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, prompted him to run for Congress, an idea his mother had encouraged him to consider before she died of cancer.
He was flying from Washington to Los Angeles that day and was stranded in Los Angeless for five days afterward. "I love to fly airplanes, but as I projected the next 25 years of my professional career as an airline pilot, taking people from point A to point B was not going to make the material difference in my life that I knew I wanted to make," Taff said.
He was largely unknown when he declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination, and his entry dismayed some party leaders who were hoping to avoid yet another in a long string of divisive primary battles in the 3rd District suburbs of Kansas City, Kan.
The other candidate, Overland Park plastic surgeon Jeff Colyer, was backed by the national GOP and by conservatives including U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback.
However, moderates including Gov. Bill Graves and former Rep. Jan Meyers quickly threw their support behind Taff. Both Taff and Colyer made sizeable personal loans to their campaigns: at least $130,000 for Colyer and at least $155,000 for Taff. In the end, Taff won by only 2,882 votes out of 77,214 cast. He was aided by enthusiastic support from moderate Republicans for a Johnson County school sales tax, which passed by an overwhelming 61 percent.
Campaigns
PAC Contributions Campaign Finance Info
Adam Taff defeated Overland Park plastic surgeon Jeff Colyer to win the GOP nomination for Congress in 2002, 52 percent to 48 percent. He faces Democrat Dennis Moore in November.
Contact
To reach Adam Michael Taff or staff in Kansas, call (913) 894-8233. World Wide Web: http://www.taff2002.com/.
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Results and election materials by The Associated Press. Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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