One of the front runners in the hunt to capture the Republican nomination for the First District Congressional seat from Kansas – Tracy Mann from Salina – was in Beloit yesterday for a meet-and-greet session for local supporters.

I spoke to Mann and asked him what separated him from the other 5-candidates in the field.

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I also asked Mann about the rush on the part of the candidates to crown themselves with a “conservative crown of thorns” in campaign ads. He said, “I’m a conservative but not an angry conservative adding, to be an effective congressman it’s about finding solutions, not polarization.”

Following the Beloit appearance, Mann travelled to Concordia for a similar function there.

The latest polls show Mann neck-and-neck with Jim Barnett of Emporia and Tim Huelskamp of Fowler.