Dr. Roger Marshall hugs a supporter during a watch party Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Great Bend, Kan.
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The Kansas Republican only earned 43 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, while Marshall won 57 percent of the vote. North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers faced a largely new district but also heavy conservative spending against her to become the first incumbent casualty of 2016. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was defeated in April after indictment on federal corruption charges. He was later convicted and quit Congress. The overall pro-Marshall message was that Huelskamp was both too extreme and not influential enough to be an effective member of Congress for Kansas.
While Huelskamp’s loss is a blow to the Freedom Caucus, his primary race was more than just a generic GOP conservative-vs.-establishment contest.
Huelskamp was kicked off the Agriculture Committee at the end of 2012, in retaliation for voting against Republican legislation, including the budget of then-Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
The powerful Kansas Farm Bureau endorsed Marshall, as did ESAFund, a super PAC funded by the billionaire Ricketts family.
Rep. Huelskamp rode the tea party wave to victory in 2010 and, as member of the House Freedom Caucus, was a thorn in the side of Washington Republicans and congressional leadership. Huelskamp was a frequent critic of Boehner, who resigned previous year amid strife with the Republican Party’s right wing.
“I think he has a better record than what he is given credit for”, said Doris O’Neal, a 76-year-old Hutchinson homemaker who voted for Huelskamp. “If you listen for reasons he voted as he has, I think you will find he is doing the best he can for Kansas”.
No Democrats filed for the election, but Libertarian Kerry Burt and independent candidate Alan LaPolice are expected to be on the general election ballot in November.
Huelskamp complained during a post-vote press conference about the “outside money” injected into the race by special interest groups, he claimed over $3 million was spent supporting Marshall from outside donors. In the 2nd District of eastern Kansas and the 4th District of south-central Kansas, GOP Reps. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a member of the hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus, lost to a political newcomer yesterday in the Republican primary for his Kansas district.
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