Kansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Based in the south central part of the state, the district encompasses the city of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, three universities, Arkansas City, and the State of Kansas's only national airport.
The 4th congressional district is historically a strongly Republican district,[3][4][5][6] almost exclusively represented, over the last half century, by Republicans—with the sole exception of moderate Democrat Dan Glickman, who lost his bid for re-election to a 10th term in 1994.[6][7]
As of mid-April 2017 (following a special election to fill the district seat left vacant by Mike Pompeo's resignation to become CIA Director), no other Democrat has won election to the Congressional seat lost by Glickman,[8] which has since gone to conservative, anti-abortion Republicans,[5][9][10][11] routinely, by a roughly two-to-one margin in subsequent races—with the exception of the April 11, 2017 special election, in which Democrat James Thompson managed to narrow the gap with Republican victor Ron Estes to only 6.2%.[12][13]
History
Since the 1980s (and peaking with the 1991 Summer of Mercy protests), the district's major city, Wichita (where most 4th district voters reside), is often referred to in national media as the center, or "ground zero", of the nation's anti-abortion movement[14][15][16][17][18][19]—a primary factor that Glickman has credited for his defeat,[20][21][22][23][9]—and which has remained a major influence in 4th district politics, with all three of Glickman's successors (Todd Tiahrt, Mike Pompeo and Ron Estes) claiming strong anti-abortion views.[9][10] In the 2017 Special Election to fill Pompeo's vacated seat, a critical factor in Estes' unusually narrow victory over the Democrat (James Thompson) was a string of last-minute ads tying Thompson to his pro-abortion stance.[5]
Redistricting
In 2012, a feud between conservative and moderate Republicans in the Kansas Legislature stymied progress on mandatory decennial redistricting (boundary changes to reflect new demographic data from the decennial census). With elections approaching, the federal courts intervened and drew the district boundaries, shifting the fourth district westward, into more conservative territory.[24][25][26]
2016 elections
In the 2016 general election, incumbent Republican Mike Pompeo was overwhelmingly re-elected to the seat, with a 31% (85,000-vote) lead over his Democratic rival.[3][6] However, President-elect Donald Trump then nominated him as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and upon Pompeo's Congressional confirmation as CIA Director in January 2017, Pompeo resigned his Congressional seat, leaving it vacant—forcing Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to call a special election, set for April 11, 2017, to fill Pompeo's vacated Congressional seat.[27][13][28][6][29][30] (as happened with Pompeo's previous Democratic challengers[12]).
2017 special election
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, acting on his authority, announced a special election would be held on April 11, 2017, to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Pompeo's resignation. Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian parties would select their nominees through district caucuses, run by the respective party organizations, voting through delegates selected by their respective party rules. It would be the first Congressional election since the 2016 national election, and thus drew national attention.[6][27][13][7]
Republicans nominated Kansas State Treasurer Ron Estes. Democrats nominated civil-rights attorney James Thompson, a political novice. Libertarians nominated aviation instructor Chris Rockhold, also a political novice.[5][7][8][27][13]
Initial assumptions were that this election's outcome was a foregone conclusion: The Republican would win overwhelmingly again. However, Democratic nominee Thompson, aided with numerous energetic supporters (particularly former local campaigners for Bernie Sanders, who had taken the 2016 Kansas Democratic Presidential Caucus by 75%), began to show signs of the first serious fourth district challenge to Republicans since Glickman's loss a quarter-century earlier.[3][6][5][7][27][13][28]
The Thompson campaign raised about $254,000 by the final campaign finance-reporting deadline, and over 97% was from individual donors—with a last-minute infusion of only $10,000 from the state party, reflecting a lack of support from his state party and national organizations.[5] By comparison, Estes raised about $318,000—plus another $94,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) after the filing deadline—largely from outside groups and big (over $1,000) donors.[5][7]
The Thompson campaign emphasized Thompson's working-class progressive credentials, telling the story of his childhood poverty and use of education as a ladder to opportunity. Another key focus was his status as a U.S. Army veteran and advocacy for Second Amendment rights, featuring images of him firing his assault rifle. The campaign strongly emphasized his desire to defend the Constitution, inferring a reference to President Trump. The Thompson campaign attempted to focus public attention on Estes' close connections to exceptionally unpopular Governor Sam Brownback. In response, Estes and the Republican party simply branded Thompson as "too liberal for Kansas." Estes' low-key campaign included refusing to attend several debates with Thompson and Libertarian candidate Rockhold.[7][5] However, last-minute Republican ads—with retouched photos—depicted Thompson with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and focused on Thompson's abortion-rights beliefs (rather falsely, Thompson and some others argued, but essentially accurate, others have said), with apparent impact.[5]
In the last two weeks of the election, Republicans responded with a flurry of ads, especially abortion-focused ads, largely from national Republican party organizations. Robo-calls from President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence flooded the fourth district, and Senator Ted Cruz—who had won the 2016 Kansas Republican presidential caucus—made a last-minute visit to the district to stump for Estes.[5][7][6][27][13][28]
On election day—although advance voting returns indicated a substantial lead for Thompson, and Thompson narrowly secured a majority of the total Sedgwick County vote—a final tally of the in-person votes, combined with the advance ballots, eventually sorted out to give Estes (at 53% of the vote) the victory over Democrat Thompson (with 45% - about 8,500 fewer votes) and Libertarian Rockhold (at 2%, about 1,900 votes total).[6][27][13] It was the closest that Democrats had come to retaking the seat since Glickman's 1994 loss, and though clearly the Republican won, analysts described the unusually close race as a sign of trouble for Republicans in the fourth district, and in Kansas, and nationally.[3][4][5][27][13][28] Thompson immediately announced plans to run for the seat, again, in 2018.[6][27][28][4]
2018 regular election
In the 2018 election, the district's Republican incumbent for Congress was Representative Ron Estes.[31] He was challenged in the primaries by a candidate with a similar name, Ron M. Estes. This led to a conundrum as to how the candidates should be distinguished on the ballot, with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach claiming that Ron G. Estes can include the prefix "Rep." on the ballot according to Kansas law, although Ron M. Estes claimed that this was unfair.[31] Ron G. Estes, the incumbent, won the primary with more than 80% of the vote.[32] In the Democratic primary for Congress, Laura Lombard lost to James Thompson, who was defeated by Ron G. Estes in the 2017 special election.[31] In the general election, Ron Estes was re-elected, defeating James Thompson by a large margin.[33]
2000 demographics
Most of the approximately 670,000 citizens of the fourth district reside in the state's largest city, Wichita (approximate population 390,000), or the surrounding Sedgwick County (approximate population 511,000). Nearly all live within the Wichita MSA (approximate population 650,000). The rest live in small towns and rural areas in adjacent counties, and counties farther west and east.[34]
There were 261,106 households, out of which 36.53% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.87% were married couples living together, 10.14% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.07% were non-families. 27.62% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.99% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the district the population distribution by age is 27.69% under the age of 18, 9.13% from 18 to 24, 28.98% from 25 to 44, 21.19% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 97.32 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.67 males.
The median income for a household in the district is $40,917, and the median income for a family was $49,650. Males had a median income of $36,701 versus $25,237 for females. The per capita income for the district was $20,041. About 7.0% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Among the population aged 16 years and older, 66.4% was in the civilian labor force and 0.6% were in the armed forces. Of the employed civilian workers, 12.5% were government workers and 6.7% were self-employed. Management, professional, and related occupations employed 31.5% of the work force and sales and office occupations an additional 25.5%. Only 0.5% are employed in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. The largest employment by industry was: manufacturing, 24.1%; educational, health and social services, 20.8%; and retail trade, 11.0%. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining industries only employed 2.0%.
Composition
The 4th district includes the entirety of the following counties with the exception of Pawnee, which it shares with the 1st district. Pawnee County cities within the 4th district include Garfield and portions of Larned.
In 2012, in an unusual move, the federal courts intervened in Kansas's decennial redistricting (required by law to adjust boundaries of Congressional and state legislative districts every 10 years, to reflect changing population distributions, as reported by the decennial census).[24]
Sharply criticizing the Legislature for the intractable feud between conservative and moderate factions in the Kansas Legislature (normally responsible for redistricting), and recognizing the rapidly approaching next elections, a federal three-judge panel (the Chief Justice of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and two judges from the Kansas City U.S. District Court) drew the Kansas state and Congressional district boundaries themselves, in rather simple and direct shapes that produced radical changes.[24][25]
In the process, the 4th congressional district shifted west—still centered approximately on (and demographically dominated by) Wichita, The district's previous eastern boundary – Montgomery County and part of Greenwood County – were moved into another district, while the 4th district's western edge moved farther west, to include all of Pratt, Stafford, Barber, Kiowa, Comanche and Edwards counties, plus a slender section of southern Pawnee County. In the process, the Fourth acquired a more neatly rectangular shape, and sharply reduced the amount of counties divided between the Fourth and another district.[24][25]
William Todd Tiahrt is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district from 1995 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as part of the historic Republican Wave of 1994, defeating 18-year incumbent U.S. Representative Dan Glickman. He ran in 2010 for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Sam Brownback. He lost to fellow Republican U.S. Representative Jerry Moran of Hays, Kansas, 50%–45%.
Daniel Robert Glickman is an American politician, lawyer, lobbyist, and nonprofit leader. He served as the United States secretary of agriculture from 1995 until 2001 in the Clinton administration. He previously represented Kansas's 4th congressional district as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years.
The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859.
Dennis McKinney is a former Kansas State Treasurer. He was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives where he represented the 116th House District for ten terms, the last six as the Democratic Party's leader in the Kansas House. In January 2017, he was a Democratic candidate for the party's nomination as the 4th District of Kansas nominee in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the Democrats' 4th District nominating convention February 10, 2017, he narrowly lost to James Thompson.
The 2010 congressional elections in Kansas were held on November 2, 2010, and determined who would survive the state of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Kansas has 4 seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013.
Rajeev Kumar Goyle is a Democratic politician from Kansas, who represented the 87th District in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for Kansas's 4th congressional district.
Mark Stewart Gietzen was an American conservative political activist, notable for his start as an anti-abortion campaigner. He lived in Wichita, Kansas, United States. He was the chairman and founder of the group Kansas Coalition for Life. From 2004 to his death in 2023, he served continuously as the elected President of The Kansas Republican Assembly, a state affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies.
Ronald Gene Estes is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district since April 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Kansas State Treasurer from 2011 to 2017.
Jacob Andrew Joseph LaTurner is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, LaTurner was the 40th Kansas state treasurer from 2017 to 2021 and a state senator from the 13th district from 2013 to 2017.
Michael O'Donnell II – also known as Michael O'Donnell, Jr. – is a former Republican member of the Sedgwick County Commission in Kansas, representing District 2 from 2017 to 2020. He previously represented the 25h district in the Kansas Senate, and was a member of the Wichita City Council.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the 2014 Kansas gubernatorial election.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Kansas on November 4, 2014. Primary elections were held on August 5.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kansas, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts.
A special election was held on April 11, 2017, to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas's 4th congressional district after the incumbent, Mike Pompeo, resigned because of his nomination by President Donald Trump as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Republican Ron Estes received 52.2% of the vote and won, while runner-up Democrat James Thompson lost with 46% of the vote.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
Michael Capps is an American politician and convicted felon who was born in Wichita, Kansas. A Republican, he was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives for the 85th district from 2018 to 2021.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2022 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Kansas, with primary elections taking place on August 2, 2022. Governor Laura Kelly ran for re-election to a second term, facing Republican State Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the general election. Kelly defeated Schmidt by a margin of roughly 2.2 percentage points.
The 2022 Kansas Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Attorney General of Kansas. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced he would retire to run for governor. The Republican nominee was former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and the Democratic nominee was former police officer, prosecutor, and state securities regulator, Chris Mann. Kobach narrowly won, taking 50.80% of the general election vote to Mann's 49.20%.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Associated Press, "Republicans survive election scare, win Kansas House seat" KSN-W TV News, Kansas State Network, Wichita, Kansas; Published: April 11, 2017, 11:40 am; Updated: April 12, 2017, 12:04 am (NOTE: The date and time posted by AP/KSN for original publication precedes, by several hours, the closing of the polls, raising questions about the origins of this article, reporting the outcome of this relatively close election), retrieved April 12, 2017
↑ Welch, William M., "Abortion provider was accustomed to threats," May 31, 2009, USA Today, retrieved February 16, 2017; which says: "His practice made him a focal point in the political struggle over abortion, and his hometown became ground zero for anti-abortion activists. In 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms.... His clinic was bombed in 1985...."
↑ Ball, Karen (Kansas City) "George Tiller's Murder: How Will It Impact the Abortion Fight?," May 31, 2009, Time magazine, retrieved February 16, 2017; which says: "George Tiller long ago erased the line between his private life and his public cause, turning his Wichita, Kans., clinic into ground zero in the fight over late-term abortions.... shot in both arms in 1993 by an antiabortion activist."
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Associated Press, "Estes wins special election for Kansas' 4th Congressional District," KWCH-TV News, Wichita, Kansas, Posted 3:59 PM, April 11, 2017; Updated: Wed 1:57 AM, April 12, 2017 (NOTE: The date and time posted by AP/KWCH for original publication precedes, by several hours, the closing of the polls, raising questions about the origins of this article, reporting the outcome of this relatively close election), retrieved April 12, 2017
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