Though there has been no finding of wrongdoing, the extension last week of a U.S. House ethics committee review of Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, isn't good news for his Senate campaign, because it means there could be 45 more days of uncertainty. The Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent body, investigated connections between clients of a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm and members of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Tiahrt said he asked that his review be forwarded to the House Committee on Standards and that he is confident that he will be fully exonerated by March 2. But as Politico blogger Ben Smith noted last fall when word of the investigation leaked, "It's tough enough running in a GOP primary in a conservative state as an appropriator. . . . And when you have even a whiff of scandal surrounding your role as a congressional spender, you're in an even tougher spot."