Kraske: Skelton in for a battle from Hartzler

Following on the heels of Time Magazine and New York Times articles on the Fourth District Congressional debate, Kansas City Star political reporter Steve Kraske offers his revelation that there is a race between Ike Skelton and Vicky Hartzler:

Republican Vicky Hartzler of Harrisonville is Skelton’s challenger. Riding a national wave of pro-GOP sentiment, Hartzler accuses Skelton of turning into a Washington insider during his 34-year tenure.
“We have so many people in Washington removed from rural America,” Hartzler said recently in Richmond. “Ike’s lost touch.”
Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, rejects that accusation. He is a pro-gun, anti-abortion Democrat who voted against the health care reform bill that President Obama championed.
“I live and breathe what I do,” he said. “I enjoy every minute of it, every minute of it. ... I know I’ve made a difference.”