Dennis Moore (November 8, 1945 – November 2, 2021) was an American politician and lawyer, a "Blue Dog" centrist who served for six terms as a U.S. Representative for , from 1999 until 2011. He was a member of the Kansas Democratic Party.
He and Sharice Davids have been the only two Kansas Democrats to serve in Congress since January 2009.
Early life and education
Moore was born in 1945 in Anthony in southcentral Harper County, Kansas. He attended the University of Kansas, from which he earned a bachelor's degree, and was briefly enrolled at Southern Methodist University. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas.
Career
Moore served in the United States Army before becoming Assistant Kansas Attorney General. After a period in private practice, he was elected District Attorney in northeast Johnson County, serving in that capacity from 1977 to 1989. While a defense attorney at the practice of Moriarty, Erker & Moore, he represented Debora Green when she was charged with murder in 1995. The case ended in 1996 with Green pleading no contest to the charges.
Moore was first elected to the United States House in 1998, defeating the Republican incumbent, Vince Snowbarger. The district had traditionally elected moderate Republicans, but Snowbarger's unyielding conservatism caused many voters to shift to Moore. He thus became the first Democrat to represent the district in 37 years, after Democrat Newell A. George lost re-election to Republican Robert Fred Ellsworth, when it was the 2nd District. (It was renumbered the 3rd District by 1963.)
Moore faced Republican conservative Phill Kline in 2000. He narrowly held his seat, taking 50% of the vote. His margin of victory was fairly close believed to be due to George W. Bush's strong performance in the district. In 2002, he won another close race, this time against moderate Republican Adam Taff, an airline pilot. In 2004, Moore defeated law professor Kris Kobach, another conservative, in the general election, with 55% of the vote.
In the 2006 Congressional election, Moore successfully defended his seat against Republican Chuck Ahner, winning with 64% of the vote, a much larger margin than he had in the past.
In August 2007, Republican State Senator Nick Jordan of Shawnee announced he would challenge Moore for the 3rd District seat in 2008. Moore defeated Jordan by a vote of 56% to 40%.
On November 23, 2009, it was reported that after six terms, Dennis Moore would not seek re-election in 2010, when he would turn 65 years old. Moore's wife, Stephene Moore, became the Democratic nominee. She lost the election to Republican State Representative Kevin Yoder. The district was not represented by a Democrat again until 2019 after it was taken by Native American attorney Sharice Davids.
U.S. House of Representatives
While in office Moore represented Kansas's 3rd congressional district, the state's smallest and most affluent, which includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including Kansas City, Overland Park, Olathe, Shawnee, Lenexa and De Soto. During his early tenure the university town of Lawrence was located in the third district but was later redistricted to the 2nd District.
Committee assignments
Committee on the Budget
Committee on Financial Services
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chairman) Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Finance and Tax
Moore was the policy co-chair for the Blue Dog Coalition in the 110th Congress and a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
Political positions
Budget, spending, and taxes
In 2005–2006, Representative Moore supported the interests of Citizens for Tax Justice, an organization supporting fair taxes for middle and low-income families and the closing of corporate tax loopholes, 83% of the time.
In 2007, the National Taxpayers Union, an organization favoring a flat tax or a national sales tax, gave Representative Moore its rating of F for his 4% rating. The NTU explains "A score significantly below average qualifies for a grade of 'F.' This failing grade places the Member into the 'Big Spender' category." Representative Moore did not supported the agenda of the National Tax Limitation Committee and was given their rating of 0 percent in 2007–2008.