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,"Republicans' narrow win for Kansas seat embolden Democrats," April 12, 2017, PBS NewsHour, retrieved April 12, 2017Stirewalt, Chris, "A shocker in Wichita?," published April 11, 2017, FoxNews, retrieved April 14, 2017Weigel, David, Analysis: "Four big lessons from Kansas's special election," April 12, 2017, Washington Post, retrieved April 14, 2017Chamberlain, Samuel, "Republican holds on in closely-watched Kansas special House election," April 12, 2017, FoxNews, retrieved April 14, 2017 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."Dems making close race in Kansas, in 1st congressional contest under Trump," published April 11, 2017, FoxNews, retrieved April 14, 2017
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,"Kansas Democratic Party picks James Thompson as nominee for 4th District race," February 11, 2017, KWCH-TV News, retrieved February 12, 2017 which has since gone to conservative, anti-abortion Republicans,"Mike Pompeo on Abortion," in "Mike Pompeo on the Issues" page, OnTheIssues.org, retrieved February 10, 2017 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%."Wichita attorney Dan Giroux announces challenge to Rep_ Mike Pompeo," Topeka Capital-Journal / CJonline.com, retrieved February 12, 2017Associated 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
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"Drive Against Abortion Finds a Symbol: Wichita," August 4, 1991, New York TimesAbcarian, Robin, "Abortion doc's killer convicted," January 30, 2010, Chicago Tribune, (originally published January 29, 2010, in Los Angeles Times as "Scott Roeder convicted of murdering abortion doctor George Tiller,"), retrieved February 16, 2017; which says "...Wichita, which became a center of the anti-abortion movement in the late 1980s and 1990s."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."Eligon, John, "Four Years Later, Slain Abortion Doctor's Aide Steps Into the Void: Kansas Abortion Practice Set to Replace Tiller Clinic," January 25, 2013, New York Times, retrieved February 16, 2017; which says: "The [Wichita abortion] clinic was also the focal point of the "Summer of Mercy" protests in 1991... tens of thousands of abortion protesters... more than 2,000... arrested — in an event that transformed... into a national brawl."Carmon, Irin "Kansas abortion clinic is back: Three years after George Tiller's murder by an anti-abortionist, his aide is picking up where her mentor left off," September 28, 2012, Salon, retrieved February 16, 2017; which says: "...Wichita, which has been ground zero for the abortion battle since the 1991 Summer of Mercy, when the antiabortion group Operation Rescue set up camp there."—a primary factor that Glickman has credited for his defeat,Jehl, Douglas, "Man in the News - Turning Loss Into Victory - Daniel Robert Glickman," December 28, 1994, New York Times, retrieved February 11, 2017Christopher J. Catizone, "Debate Addresses Abortion Politics," March 9, 2004, Harvard Crimson, retrieved February 10, 2017."Dan Glickman," Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., retrieved February 11, 2017McNulty, Timothy J., "Incumbent's Defeat Is A Case Study In Grass-roots Politics," November 20, 1994, Chicago Tribune, retrieved February 10, 2017Hegeman, Roxanna, Associated Press, "Kansas House race divides anti-abortion community," July 20, 2014, Associated Press, in Washington Times, retrieved February 10, 2017—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."Todd Tiahrt on Abortion," in "Todd Tiahrt on the Issues" page, OnTheIssues.org, retrieved February 10, 2017 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.
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."Court releases redistricting plans; bad news for two conservative Senate hopefuls," June 8, 2012, The Wichita Eagle, retrieved February 12, 2017"Judges' decision moves Pratt County into 4th Congressional District," June 9, 2012, Pratt Tribune, Pratt, Kansas, retrieved February 12, 2017"Political Geography: Kansas," March 9, 2012, in Five Thirty-Eight blog of the New York Times, retrieved February 12, 2017
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. 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.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"Thompson plans another run for Congress," KWCH-TV News, Posted: Tue 11:30 PM, April 11, 2017, retrieved April 12, 2017Hancock, Peter, "Former lawmaker Dennis McKinney to announce bid for Congress," January 24, 2017,, Lawrence Journal-World, retrieved February 10, 2017Lowry, Bryan; Daniel Salazar and Dion Lefler, "Here's the latest on who's running for Pompeo's seat in Congress," January 24, 2017, The Wichita Eagle, retrieved February 10, 2017 (as happened with Pompeo's previous Democratic challengers).
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.