Kansas's 4th congressional district election, 2018

Kansas's 4th congressional district election, 2018
November 6, 2018

U.S. Representative before election

Ron Estes
Republican

 Elected U.S. Representative

TBD

Kansas's 4th congressional district election, 2018 will be held on November 6, 2018, to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas's 4th congressional district, which is based in the south-central part of the state and encompasses the city of Wichita and surrounding areas. The Democratic candidate is civil rights attorney and Army veteran James Thompson. The Republican candidate is incumbent Ron Estes, who was previously the state treasurer.

Primary election

Nominees for the Democratic and Republican party were selected by a primary election that took place on August 7, 2018. This contest attracted national attention from both political parties.[1]

Republican Party

The Republican Party selected a nominee during a Republican Party primary election which took place on August 7, 2018. The Republican primary was open to registered voters who were either unaffiliated or registered as Republicans.[2][3]

Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle considered making a primary challenge of Estes,[4] but declined to do so.[5] Because there were two Republican candidates named Ron Estes, the names will appear on the ballot as "Rep. Ron Estes" and "Ron M. Estes", which some criticized as breaking state law that prohibits identifying an incumbent on the ballot.[6][7][8][9]

Primary candidates

The candidates in the Republican primary were:

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party selected a nominee during a Democratic Party primary election that took place on August 7, 2018. The Democratic primary was open to registered voters who were either unaffiliated or registered as Democrats.[2][3]

Senator Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for Democrat James Thompson on July 20, 2018 after the national Democratic party would not support him.[1][13][14][15][16] Laura Lombard criticized the state's decision to list incumbent Ron Estes as "Rep. Ron Estes" on the ballot, because she believes it breaks state laws which prohibit a candidate from being identified as an incumbent on the ballot.[7]

Primary candidates

The candidates in the Democratic primary were:

  • Laura Lombard, businesswoman and CEO of ImEpik (online workforce training services); supports economic development, education, healthcare access and equal rights[17]
  • James Thompson (winner), civil rights attorney and military veteran; pro-choice, supports gun-ownership, supports legal cannabis, would like to expand Social security, supports single-payer healthcare[13]

General election candidates

Ron Estes

Estes is the incumbent who has served as the U.S. Representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district since April 25, 2017. Estes is pro-life, supports repealing the Affordable Care Act and would like to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

James Thompson

Thompson is civil rights attorney and Army veteran. He is pro-choice, supports gun ownership and legal cannabis, and would like to expand social security.[18][19] In 2001, after an altercation while working as a bouncer, he pleaded no-contest to using fighting words and was fined $225.[20] A website launched by Estes alleged Thompson was cited for battery in 2000, but Thompson's campaign responded that Estes was intentionally trying to mislead the public because the alleged charges were dropped after it was revealed Thompson had been falsely identified.[20][21] Thompson has criticized Estes for avoiding debates, and in October 2018 appeared at an event by Estes to debate him.[22]

Results

Kansas's 4th congressional district election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Ron Estes
Democratic James Thompson
Total votes

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kelly, Matthew. "Kansas primaries attract national political attention – The Sunflower". thesunflower.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Legislatures, National Conference of State. "State Primary Election Types". www.ncsl.org. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. 1 2 FairVote.org. "Primaries – FairVote". www.fairvote.org. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Wagle run for Congress would mean primary challenge for Estes". kansas. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Susan Wagle, Senate president, rules out bid for Congress or governor". kansas. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Kansas to use 'Rep' to distinguish candidate with same name | WTOP". WTOP. June 11, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  7. 1 2 KWCH. "Second 'Ron Estes' releases statement in 4th congressional district race". Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Garcia, Eric; Garcia, Eric (June 12, 2018). "Rep. Estes Gets to Be 'Rep. Estes' on Kansas Primary Ballot". Roll Call. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ Smith, Sherman. "In Ron Estes vs Ron Estes, Democrat wants 'Rep' left off ballot". The Topeka Capital. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  10. ↑ Shaar, Deborah. "It's Estes Vs. Estes In 4th Congressional District GOP Primary". Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ron M. Estes has a brilliant plan to defeat Ron G. Estes in a Kansas congressional race". July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ Gardner, Josh (July 20, 2018). "Longshot's Campaign Has One Unusual Advantage". Newser. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Smarsh, Sarah (July 26, 2018). "They thought this was Trump country. Hell no". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  14. ↑ Weigel, David. "Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will campaign together in Kansas". Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  15. ↑ "From New York to the Heartland: Ocasio-Cortez Debuts on National Campaign Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Bernie Sanders fires up 4,000 in Wichita with rally for James Thompson, against Trump". kansas. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Democrat Laura Lombard launches campaign for Congress". kansas. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  18. ↑ Smarsh, Sarah (July 26, 2018). "They thought this was Trump country. Hell no". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  19. ↑ "James A. Thompson, D-Wichita". The Hutchinson News. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  20. 1 2 Smith, Sherman. "Republicans blast James Thompson for citation in 2001 bar fight". The Topeka Capital. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  21. ↑ "Republicans claim James Thompson beat bar patrons; Thompson campaign says it’s a lie", by Dion Lefler, The Wichita Eagle
  22. ↑ "James Thompson confronts Rep. Ron Estes at Estes' town hall". kansas. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.