Bond praises potential Graves challenger

Republican Sen. Kit Bond (Mo.) expressed admiration and approval for Democratic Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes during a news conference yesterday, even as Barnes is nearing a decision on whether to challenge Bond’s fellow Missouri Republican, Rep. Sam Graves, in 2008.

Barnes, who is leaving office next month after eight years, is getting a hard push by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). National Democrats have not fielded a strong challenge to Graves since he first was elected in 2000 but think Barnes could change that.

{mosads}The mayor’s office issued a release on the event, pointing out that Bond “highlighted” Barnes’s “successes” over the last eight years.

“Obviously the mayor and I are of different political parties, but the people of Kansas City expect elected leaders to work together to get things done,” Bond said in the release. “Because of [Barnes’s] commitment and dedication, Kansas City is a better place to live and work.”