James Thompson (Kansas politician)
James Thompson is a civil rights attorney practicing in Wichita, Kansas, and a U.S. Army veteran. He filed to run for the Democratic nomination, in the Kansas 4th Congressional District special election held to replace Representative Mike Pompeo, who had been confirmed to head the Central Intelligence Agency after having been nominated by President Donald Trump.
Personal life
A Wichita native, Thompson experienced homelessness as a child. He joined the U.S. Army and served from 1990 through 1994, including as a member of the Presidential Honor Guard.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
2017 Congressional nominating caucuses
Party nominees of the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties, in the election were chosen by a caucus of elected delegates to their respective district conventions, who cast secret ballots. The Republican party chose Ron Estes, who had been Sedgwick County's Treasurer between 2005 to 2011 at which time he won his first election as Kansas State Treasurer. Estes secured the nomination on the second ballot, where former CD-4 representative Todd Tiahrt (1995-2011) finished a distant third. Candidates for the Democratic nomination included Dennis McKinney, previously both the State Treasurer and House Minority whip, Robert Tillman, the 2012 Democratic nominee for the seat, Charlie Walker, an Andover, Kansas policeman, entrepreneur Laura Lombard, and political newcomer, Thompson, who was a supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a 2016 presidential contender in the Kansas caucuses. Chris Rockhold won the Libertarian nomination for the seat.
The nomination of Thompson was greeted favorably by supporters of both of the two remaining candidates. Kansas House Minority leader Jim Ward said, "The eyes of the country are upon us," "Have no doubt about that this is going to be a referendum on Trump policies." Ward said a Thompson victory in a heavily Republican district would put Trump on notice to "...stay in his own lane." Trump scares solid Republicans who voted for him in November, Ward continued, "...just like he scares us, and they’re not sure if they made the right decision."[1] Although the Democratic national establishment rejected support for Thompson in the special election,[2] Republicans nevertheless equated Thompson to a "rubber stamp" for House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California as state Republican Chairman Kelly Arnold characterized him. Arnold conversely lauded Estes as, a "...principled conservative who is committed to finding solutions, repealing Obamacare, balancing the budget, and keeping our nation safe.” Thompson anticipated that Republicans would try to exploit divisions amongst establishment Clinton supporters, versus insurgent Sanders backers, but gave his reassurances: "... people do want to see a different set of policies that are good for everyone instead of just the rich and powerful."[1]
Results
| Democratic District Caucus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. |
| James Thompson | 17 | 44% | 21 | 54% |
| Dennis McKinney | 16 | 41% | 18 | 46% |
| Laura Lombard | 3 | 8% | Eliminated | |
| Charlie Walker | 3 | 8% | Eliminated | |
| Robert Tillman | 0 | 0% | Eliminated | |
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Ron Estes (R) |
James Thompson (D) |
Chris Rockhold (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Park Strategies (D-Thompson) | March 2017 | 500 | 4.4% | 56% | 32% | 4% | – |
Results
The Associated Press called the election for Estes while he was leading by 6% with 88% of precincts reporting. The lead was 6.2% when all the votes were tallied.[3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ron Estes | 64,044 | 52.2% | −8.5% | |
| Democratic | James Thompson | 56,435 | 46.0% | +16.4% | |
| Libertarian | Chris Rockhold | 2,115 | 1.7% | −1.1% | |
| Total votes | 122,594 | 100.0% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
- ^ a b Lefler, Dion (February 11, 2017). "Lawyer James Thompson wins Democratic nomination for Congress". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Live Results: G.O.P. Keeps Control of House Seat in Kansas Special Election, New York Times, Wilson Andrews, Matthew Bloch, Jeremy Bowers and Adam Pearce, April 12, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Live results Kansas Special Election, The Hill, Lisa Hagen, April 11, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Live Results: Republicans Defend House Seat in Kansas Special Election, New York Times, Wilson Andrews, Matthew Bloch, Jeremy Bowers and Adam Pearce, April 12, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017
- ^ 2017 Special Election Official Results, Kansas Secretary of State. Retrieved September 23, 2017.