By MARY CLARKIN

Special to The Hays Daily News

Congressional hopeful Tracey Mann has a mysterious critic.

He doubts she really exists, but a blogger identified as Karen Sanderville has a Web site devoted to attacking Mann, a Salina Republican running in a seven-candidate field in the 1st District's Aug. 3 primary.

One posting lashed out at Mann, a commercial real estate businessman, for failings that included missing a campaign fundraising goal, not having a real estate listing in Salina, and:

"He probably told his parents when he got married that one day they would be grandparents. FAIL.TRACEY MANN = FAILURE."

"Below-the-belt mudslinging politics," said Mann.

He and wife, Audrey Mann, have lost a baby and twins to miscarriages. The couple still hopes to have a baby, although the candidate said adoption could be a possibility.

The Web site is part of a digital political fisticuffs dubbed a "hit blog" by Fort Hays State University associate professor of political science Chapman Rackaway.

"It's one of the most disgusting trends in politics today," Rackaway said.

In the crowded race to succeed U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, Mann captured attention last year when he enjoyed early success at fundraising. At the end of 2009, he ranked third for cash-on-hand, with $240,808, compared to State Sens. Tim Huelskamp's $480,059, and Jim Barnett's $374,689. Rob Wasinger had $202,973 in his account at the end of the year, with Monte Shadwick and Sue Boldra reporting less than $20,000 each, and Marck Cobb reporting no money.

A Karen Sanderville in Kansas cannot be found at the people-finding site, zabasearch.com, and Mann said she doesn't appear on voter registration rolls. The News sent two e-mails to an e-mail address provided but received no reply.

The Web site - traceytruthfile.blogspot.com - led to an address on twitter.com and Facebook.

One Facebook friend of Sanderville was J.R. Claeys, a Salina Republican running for Kansas Secretary of State.

"No, I don't know who she is or if she is real," said Claeys in an e-mail to The News. He noted his campaign staff adds anyone who requests to be added to his social networking sites without vetting them.

Mann suspects a rival campaign is behind the traceytruthfile blog.

"We're pretty sure what campaign it is," Mann said, but he would not identify his suspicions.

The News asked campaigns for Barnett, Huelskamp and Wasinger if their candidate or staff was linked directly or indirectly to the blog and received three denials:

Barnett spokesman Patrick Graham: "We're not. We have no connection with her or that blog at all."

Huelskamp's spokesman David Ray: "Our campaign is not affiliated with that blog in any way, shape, or form."

Wasinger spokesman Billy Valentine: "Absolutely not. Rob is committed to running a positive, issues-based campaign and we don't have time for such nonsense, and neither do the voters."

The News was unable to reach Boldra and Shadwick.

Boldra was the victim of a phony Web site last year that cast her as liberal Republican promising to "continue the legacy of Hillary Clinton." Boldra suspected supporters of opponents were involved and pointed out the Web site had links to a blog favoring Wasinger. Wasinger said he and his campaign were not associated with either of those sites.

On Thursday, Wasinger's campaign manager Valentine said anonymous blog posts "have little relevance and even less readership among voters."

"Rob stopped reading them when friends of Tim Huelskamp started parking in front of his house to take pictures of his home and more recently when Rob's wife and children were followed around with a video camera as they were trying to enjoy Kansas Day," Valentine wrote in an e-mail, referring to the Kansas Day gathering each year in January for Kansas Republicans.

"Absolutely none of these silly and amateur allegations from the Wasinger campaign have any merit," responded Huelskamp's campaign manager Ray.

"These are the desperate attacks of a campaign that netted only $8,000 over the last three months and finds itself trailing badly in the most recent public poll," Ray also noted.

A SurveyUSA poll conducted in February for KWCH-TV in Wichita showed Barnett with 23 percent, Huelskamp with 16 percent and Wasinger with 8 percent. Boldra had 8 percent, with Mann and Shadwick at 4 percent each. Cobb registered at 2 percent.

"Undecided" in that poll drew 23 percent, indicating to Fort Hays' Rackaway that "there's no real frontrunner in this race," he said.

"Everyone has some kind of incentive to try to reduce and soften the support of the other candidates," Rackaway said.

Rackaway also criticized the "hit blog" use in political campaign.

"The trend in hit blogging is the most distasteful and ethically disturbing trend that I have seen in a long, long time," Rackaway said. Someone "can hide behind this veil of anonymity" and launch attacks, he said. "They're not being upfront about who's sponsoring them, and as a voter, that denies me a very vital piece of information," he said.

Rackaway said whoever was behind the blog "ought to be exposed for the fraud they are."

"I know that other people on our team monitor those things," Mann said, but he said he is "focused on meeting with voters and talking about the things that matter."

Families should be off limits, he said, and his campaign isn't engaging in personal attacks.

"There are so many important things facing our state and our country right now that to stoop to that level really takes your eye off the ball," Mann said.