Thursday, April 13, 2017

Republican Win in Kansas Narrower Than It Should Have Been

By Douglas V. Gibbs
AuthorSpeakerInstructorRadio Host

In a special election in Kansas, Republican Ron Estes narrowly won Kansas’ 4th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with 53.3% of the vote.  Estes will take the seat vacated by Representative Mike Pompeo who was appointed to serve as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Estes, Kansas’ state treasurer, ran against Democrat James Thompson, a U.S. Army veteran and civil rights attorney, and Chris Rockhold, a Libertarian and flight instructor for FlightSafety.

Kansas is a strong "red state," and boasts a 32-0 record in federal and statewide elections since first nominating Sam Brownback for governor.  In the Presidential election, Kansas voted for Trump with 56.2 percent of the vote while Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton took 35.7 percent of the vote.

However, the narrowness of the race is a reminder that the Republicans better impress voters if they plan to keep a majority in the 2018 midterm elections.  After all, for that same seat, Pompeo never won less than 60 percent of the vote.

While I don't believe the Democrats can woo over conservatives with their leftwing positions, if disappointed by any failures regarding Obamacare, tax reform, or capitulation to the leftists in Washington, Republican voters may refuse to go to the polls in 2018.
Estes said he supports repealing and replacing Obamacare.

“Obamacare must be repealed,” Estes said on his website. “Families and individuals in the 4th District should be the primary voice in making their health care decisions, not unelected Washington bureaucrats. I support replacing Obamacare with a state-based free market solution that gives each of us greater authority over our health care decisions.”

That position may have been a large part of his victory.  But, 2018 is right around the corner, so the GOP better get moving if they want to keep their majority.

Ted Cruz told voters their support of Estes was critical to advancing an Obamacare repeal and replacement package, getting rid of government regulations, and tax reform.

Estes won because he promised to get things done in Washington.  The rest of the Republicans will likely hang on to their seats if they get things done, but shortcomings could hurt them, and the narrow win of Estes ought to be a reminder to them of that.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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