Jenkins in Bed with Sebelius/ Morrison Backers?

When seeking endorsements in a party primary, it's good to go for the salt of the Earth party regulars- the kind of people the rank & file know and respect as leaders of whichever political party we're talking about.

That appeared to be exactly what Lynn Jenkins was going for yesterday when she released a list of 11 former chairperson of the Kansas Republican Party who have endorsed her candidacy in the Republican primary race against Jim Ryun for the opportunity to grapple with Congresswoman Nancy Boyda in November.

We say that's what it appears she was trying....because she might have hit a sour note.

According to research conducted by the writer of the blog Kansas Meadowlark, 7 of those 11 former Republican chairs have either donated directly to Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius or former Democratic Attorney General Paul Morrison, or they have been involved with groups "friendly to the Kansas Democratic Party."

While we might quibble with what constitutes an organization that is "friendly" to the Kansas Democratic Party (not so sure the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority counts...), but this list does more to underline the on-going fracture of the Kansas Republican Party than it does to boost Jenkins' flagging campaign.

Does this help her or does this hurt her? Primary voters tend to be the most ideologically extreme (in both parties), so we've always operated under the assumption Jenkins' liberalness on social issues would be a drag for her- and we can only assume being supported by so many liberal Republicans won't be an asset when she tries to convince primary voters she's a Republican they can trust.