While the Republican Establishment clearly sent a message to their members not to break away from party leadership, the conservative groups who have been instrumental in supporting those candidates are sending one back. There is no Democratic challenger for the seat, although Alan LaPolice, a farmer and educator who challenged Huelskamp for the 2014 Republican nomination, is poised to run as an independent.
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“A decisive and overwhelming win for conservatives who want to get big things done”, Political Director for the Chamber of Commerce Rob Engstrom told Politico. 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. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was defeated in April after indictment on federal corruption charges.
Huelskamp built a reputation by clashing with GOP leaders over farm and budget legislation.
“We find it troubling that Congressman Huelskamp’s determination to stand up for his beliefs and constituents led the former House GOP leadership to punish him by stripping him of his key committee assignments”, the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, a group supporting Huelskamp, said late Tuesday in a statement. He was later convicted and quit Congress. Huelskamp was a frequent critic of Boehner, who resigned past year amid strife with the Republican Party’s right wing. Ted Cruz, even though the firm of the Texas Republican’s campaign manager worked for Marshall. “I think there’s still some gas left in the old-school politics where you take care of your district”.
Huelskamp has rankled less conservative Republicans throughout a 20-year political career that includes a stint in the Kansas Senate before his election to Congress in 2010. In the 2nd District of eastern Kansas and the 4th District of south-central Kansas, GOP Reps. The incumbent’s reports show no personal loans to his campaign. 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.
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Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), an opponent of “comprehensive immigration reform”, lost his primary yesterday to another Republican.
