Kansas tea party congressman loses Republican primary battle

U.S. Reps. Lynn Jenkins in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas and Mike Pompeo in the 4th District of south-central Kansas had no opponents in their Republican primaries.

“The Big First is one of the leading congressional districts in the whole country for farm subsidies”, Smith said. His battles with former House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner left him stripped of his House Budget and Agriculture Committee memberships, a blow to his farm-rich state.

Huelskamp failed to follow in the successful steps of conservative Republicans who held the seat before him, including Sens. Chamber of Commerce (which backed Marshall) and the Club for Growth (which backed Huelskamp) and other outside groups. The powerful Kansas Farm Bureau endorsed Marshall, as did ESAFund, a super PAC funded by the billionaire Ricketts family. Huelskamp was an original member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a rambunctious group of roughly 40 conservatives who are often at odds with Republican leadership.

Campaign finance reports also show that independent groups also spent more than $2.8 million, favoring Marshall by a significant margin. He will be the heavy favorite in November, when he’ll square off against only an independent challenger – the Democrats aren’t fielding a candidate.

“Getting kicked off the Agriculture Committee is a crime that can’t be forgiven”, Brian Scheideman, a drivers education teacher in the district, told the Associated Press. But House Speaker Paul Ryan stayed mum on the issue.

“Governing was on the ballot in KS-1 and voters spoke clearly”, the chamber’s national political director Rob Engstrom said in a statement Tuesday night.

But Huelskamp was also simply unpopular with many state leaders and constituents and rumors of a primary challenge began in 2014.

Instead the Freedom Caucus has been involved in trying to support its own members such as Huelskamp, Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, and New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, and open-seat candidates including Warren Davidson in Ohio, Ted Budd in North Carolina, Jim Banks in IN and Mike Crane in Georgia. “For those who stand & fight for Free Enterprise, you will find no greater friend”. Cruz’s campaign manager, worked for Mr. Marshall.