 On April 4, 2007, Jenkins announced that she had filed papers with the Federal Election Commission as a first step of running for the U.S. House of Representatives for Kansas's 2nd congressional district.Her opponent in the Republican primary was former U.S. Representative Jim Ryun, who served five terms before being defeated in 2006 by prior Democratic incumbent Nancy Boyda, who ran for reelection.In the campaign between Jenkins and Ryun, he criticized her for having voted for tax increases while a state legislator, and she criticized him for having supported earmarks.