Kansas GOP candidate for Congress Kevin Yoder, whose pro-gun and anti-abortion credentials have been put into question by some, courted a conservative crowd at a meet-and-greet event at National Rifle Association offices Wednesday.

Though the invitation did not expressly ask for donations, unlike the $1,000-per-PAC fundraising lunch he held earlier in the day, and there was no sign-up sheet soliciting donations, according to a lobbyist who attended, Yoder did make a pitch to potential donors.

Yoder has a commanding fundraising advantage against Democrat Stephene Moore, the wife of retiring Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and a registered nurse, in a race that leads slightly in his favor, according to the Cook Political Report.

Among the crowd at the event – attended by about 40 people, according to one participant – were representatives from a conservative group, anti-abortion groups, and lobbyists. Asked about the event outside of NRA headquarters, a few people said they attended because a friend invited them. Many also said they did not know much about the candidate.

Two participants were there to sniff out where Yoder stood on the abortion issue. In the GOP primary, Yoder got by former state Rep. Patricia Lightner despite her endorsement from Kansans for Life. She received $250 in anti-abortion contributions, according to CRP, while Yoder has received none.

Though the NRA endorsed Yoder, gave him an ‘A’ rating, and contributed $500 to his 2008 state campaign, the state representative got a ‘C’ back in 2006 and a ‘D’ in 2004. NRA’s PAC plans to spend about $20 million in this election, of which only about $3 million has been spent, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Last election, the vast majority of this bounty went towards advocating for or against candidates.

Before entering NRA offices, both George Melik of the National Pro-Life Alliance and Karen Cross, political director of the National Right to Life Committee, said they wanted to see where Yoder stood on the abortion issue. After the event, Melik said he would consider donating to the campaign. His group gave Rep. Dennis Moore’s 2008 opponent, Nick Jordan, $500, according to CRP. The National Right to Life Committee PAC spent over $4 million supporting GOP candidates through independent expenditures in 2008.

Thus far, Yoder has not received any contributions from ideological or single-issue donors, which includes gun rights and abortion organizations, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Also attending was lobbyist Larry Hunt of the American Conservative Union, a group which has given Dennis Moore a lifetime rating of 15.5 out of 100.

NRA lobbyist Jeff Freeman, a host at a fundraising lunch for Yoder earlier that day, was setting up the event in what looked like a conference room, with posters of celebrities like actor Tom Selleck and former basketball great Karl Malone defending the Second Amendment.

That’s all this reporter got to see before he was escorted out, as the event was “closed.”

But according to one lobbyist on hand, who preferred to remain anonymous, Yoder told the crowd he was not there for their cash, though he would not turn it down. He also touted that he has raised money largely without PAC help. However, the luncheon earlier in the day asked for $1,000 from PACs. Although only nine percent of Yoder’s contributions come from PACs, his biggest contributors are from the Financial, Insurance and Real Estate sector, according to CRP.

Yoder also told participants that Dennis Moore has not been fiscally or socially conservative, and that his wife would continue governing that way, the lobbyist said.

Click here to download spreadsheet of congressional fundraising events associated with NRA

At a time when most Members of Congress have fled the capital city for the hinterlands, Kevin Yoder, who is running an anti-Washington themed campaign for an open seat in Kansas’ third district, is coming to the muggy town for a meet-and-greet–”contributions welcome but not expected”–today at the offices of the National Rifle Association (NRA), confirmed his consulting firm. Yoder is also scheduled for a luncheon fundraiser earlier in the day at Carmine’s, hosted by NRA lobbyist Jeff Freeman and AT&T lobbyist Tim McGivern, where contributions from $100 to $1000 are requested.

In November, the Kansas state representative faces off against Democrat Stephene Ann Moore, a registered nurse and the wife of retiring incumbent holding the seat, Dennis Moore. Yoder recently was named to the highest tier of the “Young Guns” program operated by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which makes him eligible for more fundraising and strategic support, reports Politico.

Yoder got support from the gun rights group for his 2008 state campaign, with a $500 contribution, according to followthemoney.org. Earlier this year, Yoder was lauded by the NRA’s legislative arm for adding strengthening amendments to a Kansas state bill to expand definitions of “self defense” where it is permissible to use force. The legislature passed the bill and the governor signed it into law in April. Yoder boasts on his campaign website about his  “A” rating from the NRA. While the group is mum about Ms. Moore, her husband got an “F.”

Calls and emails to the NRA and Yoder’s campaign were not returned by the time of this posting.

To see more fundraisers at the NRA’s office, hosted by the NRA, or by lobbyists (names in CAPS) registered to lobby for the NRA in 2009 and 2010 as listed at OpenSecrets.org, click on the link below. Party Time provides this list as a resource for reporters and others interested in following congressional fundraising. When we receive information that an event is canceled or postponed, we note that in our database, but we can not confirm every event.
Keenan Steiner contributed to this post.

Click here to download spreadsheet of congressional fundraising parties associated with NRA

We have a couple of hunting fundraisers on file for Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), who is reportedly the lawmaker seeking to exempt the National Rifle Association (NRA) from the DISCLOSE Act to require more disclosure of campaign finance advertisements.

Both are at the Wynfield plantation in Georgia. One, on December 13, 2009, asked donors for $2,500 to participate. The other, was a weekend long  quail hunting trip in March 2009.

Shuler has gotten $3,500 directly from the NRA’s PAC this election cycle.

Click here to see a list of congressional fundraisers that feature hunting as the entertainment, and here to see parties hosted by the NRA.

(Hat tip: Ellen Miller.)

There’s still time to “be one of the first to experience the new laser technology at the NRA,” by signing up for Rep. Chris Carney’s “New Laser Shoot Out” fundraiser today at the gun rights’ group Capitol Hill offices at 5:30 p.m.

Blue Dog Democrat Carney hails from Pennsylvania’s 10th district, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where voters have the reputation of being fond of their guns. (Remember the much ballyhooed flack then-presidential candidate Barack Obama got when he said that small town Pennsylvanians “cling to guns.”)

While the NRA has given Carney $2,000 in direct PAC contributions, $1,000 apiece for the 2008 and 2010 cycles, the group backed his GOP opponent during his first race in 2006.

Carney has tried hard to burnish to woo pro-gun rights voters, pointing out he’s a gun owner himself and that he supports the rights of hunters.