If dollars were votes, Sen. Barack Obama would be in a dead heat with Sen. John McCain in Kansas.

The Center for Responsive Politics, using data released June 2 by the Federal Election Commission, reports that McCain has raised $355,443 from Kansans, while Obama has collected $345,377.

Despite his fundraising success, however, Obama continues to lag behind McCain in polls of Kansans.

Obama’s relatively strong performance in fundraising could be attributed in part to the early and enthusiastic support his campaign has received from Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

In addition, Obama’s mother was born in Kansas, his maternal grandmother still lives here, and Obama has campaigned in the traditionally Republican state.

McCain's lead can be more easily explained by the fact that he's a Republican running in a state with a substantial edge in Republican voter registrations.

Even so, his lead seems to have taken a hit from Obama's primary victory over Hillary Clinton.

According to Rasmussen Reports, a recent telephone survey indicated that McCain leads the Democratic Presidential hopeful by 10 percentage points. That’s down from the 20 percent lead McCain enjoyed just last month, before Obama clinched the nomination. President Bush won the state by 25 points four years ago.

Rasmussen reports that McCain’s favorability rating among Kansas voters is 62 percent, compared to 49 percent for Obama.

The poll, conducted in early June, also shows that:

• The candidates are essentially even among Kansas women, but McCain leads by more than 20 points among men.
• 52 percent of respondents said they believed Obama was too inexperienced for the nation’s top job.
• 23 percent of Kansans think McCain is too old to serve as President.

Rasmussen also asked questions unrelated to the election.

One question queried voters on their attitudes toward the Iraq war. Kansans were evenly split, 46 to 46 percent, as to whether it’s more important to win the war or to get troops home.

Another asked voters their opinion on the federal government. An overwhelming number of voters, 65 percent, agreed that the federal government looks out primarily for its own interests. Just 15 percent said the government today represents the will of the people.

The Week in Review