Brownback Visits Oklahoma

Saturday, March 10th 2007, 2:22 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A Kansas senator who is running for president strays off the campaign trail to pick up an award in Oklahoma. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., received a public service honor on Friday from a Roman Catholic Church group, but left a short time later to stump in Iowa, one of the states with an early caucus or primary in 2008.

Brownback lacks the name recognition of GOP hopefuls like fellow Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, but he said he's encouraged by straw polls taken in the past week that place him third or fourth in the pack.

"I think I'm going to wear well over time," said Brownback, 50, of Topeka. "This is a marathon that goes to a long period of time."

Brownback said he supports passage of an optional flat tax, personal Social Security accounts, developing energy security within 15 years and limiting federal spending.

He opposes abortion and said marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

"My positions are going to play well within the party in the party's primary process," he predicted.

Brownback was elected senator in 1996 to fill the unexpired term of Bob Dole.

He said voters in November were disappointed with the Republican Party when they elected a majority of Democrats to both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

"If anything, the party had walked away from its principles, clearly on spending," he said.