Nancy Boyda pulled off a big political surprise in 2006 by unseating well-known incumbent Jim Ryun in the U.S. House’s 2nd District in Kansas. She’s earned a second term.

The Topeka Democrat is not shy about identifying problem areas in Washington, and she explains her positions in more detail than do most candidates — including her Republican challenger, Lynn Jenkins.

Boyda has pushed for stronger ethics in Washington, writing a law that stripped pensions from members of Congress who commit crimes related to their elected offices.

Seeking greater political accountability, Boyda backs legislation that would require lawmakers to post their “earmark” spending requests online for public scrutiny — as she does already.

She deserves credit for her work against child pornography and to improve veterans programs. She is appropriately concerned about the decline in U.S. military readiness.

She has been a strong critic of wasteful corporate subsidies.

Her opponent has done a good job as state treasurer.

But while Jenkins offers financial expertise as her central qualification for Congress, she does not seem to be particularly well versed on federal budget matters.

This week she suggested that the federal government had months to deal with the financial crisis, which is simply incorrect.

On the economy and other issues, Nancy Boyda seems better equipped to deal with the challenges Congress will face next January.