The Hotline has the details:

Sources close to Rep. Dennis Moore (KS-03) say that the congressman will not run for re-election in 2010. It's unclear if he will launch a Senate bid instead; Sen. Sam Brownback is stepping down that year and is expected to run for governor.

Via a spokeswoman, Moore said today: "I am honored to be serving the people of the Third District and have every intention of continuing my work in Congress on their behalf."

[...]

Moore, a former Johnson Cnty. Dist. Atty and Army reservist, was re-elected in November to his sixth term.

We have been watching this race for quite some time, and suffice it to say that although the Democrats have quite a dry spell going in Kansas Senate races dating back to the 1930s the race in 2010 to succeed Sam Brownback has a real potential of being competitive.

For some time it looked like Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius would be the Democrats' best choice in 2010, though if Barack Obama taps his long time supporter for the Cabinet a Senate run would almost undoubtedly be out of the question. Yet Dennis Moore, who has consistently been able to win in a Republican-leaning district (it has a Cook PVI of R+4, meaning it tends to lean about 4 percentage points more Republican than the nation as a whole in presidential elections), could be a formidable candidate in his own right.

Moore certainly is not the most progressive Democrat in the House. In fact, his progressive punch score of 80.65 puts him in the most moderate quintile of the caucus. That said, considering that Todd Tiarht, who very well might be the Republican Senate nominee in 2010, scores just 4.83 out of 100 according to Progressive Punch, Moore would certainly be a more palatable choice.

Tiarht does have a lot more money in the bank right now than does Moore -- $1,182,697 to $354,441 -- and, as noted above, Democrats have been shut out in Senate elections in Kansas for the last 70+ years. That said, Moore could make this open seat race competitive, so these early inklings are a positive development in the Democrats' hopes of winning this Senate seat (even if it makes it less likely that Democrats will hold on to Moore's congressional seat).