A three-term House of Representatives incumbent from Kansas, who was a member of the anti-establishment House Freedom Caucus, was defeated in a Republican primary on Tuesday. His contentious race against Roger Marshall, a Great Bend obstetrician, in the 1st District was the state’s marquee congressional primary – and perhaps the state’s most notable partisan contest of the year. Huelskamp trailed 43.5 percent to 56.5 percent with 99 percent of the vote tallied.
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Funding for Kansas schools is a key issue for moderate Republicans hoping to recapture legislative seats from conservatives in Tuesday’s primary, and U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp is urging GOP voters to see his supposed cussedness as an asset.
Huelskamp was elected in 2010’s tea party rout that brought Republicans into the majority in the House, with John Boehner as speaker. The doctor backed by agriculture and business group…
Marshall’s supporters argued Huelskamp’s combativeness has harmed the district.
Kobach said he expects turnout to be higher than in past primary elections because there are more contested primaries this year than in the last two election cycles.
“Getting kicked off the Agriculture Committee is a crime that can’t be forgiven”, Brian Scheideman, a 52-year-old driver’s education instructor, said after voting in his hometown of Wamego for Marshall. But this year, primaries have resulted in the loss of incumbents, and Huelskamp has certainly been on the line before. “I don’t mind the independent voice, but you’ve got to figure out how to work with people”.
The most recent poll from Fort Hays state shows the race is too close to call, with Marshall leading Huelskamp by less than one percentage point. He said he is a conservative who will work across the aisle, adding he is not sure the Freedom Caucus would have him. Other groups also came in with large sums of money, though Huelskamp ― supported by the conservative Club for Growth and the Koch Brothers group Americans for Prosperity ― actually had the money advantage.
“Half-truths and smears were spread by billionaires that bought a seat in Kansas”, he said. The retired welder said a key issue is Huelskamp’s being booted from the House Agriculture Committee in late in 2012 amid disputes with GOP leaders over farm and fiscal legislation.
“I don’t think he fights with everybody on objective”, said Dave Hill, a 54-year-old Junction City salesman and an Army veteran of the first Gulf War. He was later convicted and quit Congress.
“I think his personality is the underlying issue”, said Patrick Miller, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, of Huelskamp. She ran in the 2014 Republican primary against U.S. Sen.
The two candidates raised a similar amount of funds from donors, about $700,000 each.
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In the 2nd District of eastern Kansas and the 4th District of south-central Kansas, GOP Reps. Interest groups also spent more than $2.7 million on the race, with Marshall benefiting significantly more. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder in the 3rd District in the Kansas City area cruised to easy GOP primary victories over lesser known opponents.
