The special election for Mike Pompeo’s seat in Kansas will be decided tonight. Pompeo was selected by President Trump to run the CIA so now we have a contest between Republican Ron Estes and Democrat James Thompson.
As Andrew Malcolm wrote earlier today, this is a district that leans decidedly red. Pompeo was re-elected by a 31-points margin last year (Trump won by 27). However, the declining popularity of President Trump has some Democrats hopeful ‘The Resistance’ can score a surprise victory. Republicans have responded by money into the district.
With polls closed, results are starting to trickle in. Scroll down for the latest.
9:15 pm eastern: Thompson is off to an early lead thanks to returns from Witchita, which leans Democratic. Decision Desk HQ seems to be well ahead of everyone else providing results. With 19.4% reporting, they show Thompon leading with 22,188 votes to 18,150 votes for Estes.
9:35 pm: Race is tightening significantly now. With 34.6% reporting Thompson leads 28,658 to 27,054:
Whoa..Butler County just shoved the votes over big time for Estes. Thompson lead now down to 1,587, 3 point race now https://t.co/2I8qbokhQN
9:46 pm: NY Times has 47% reporting and Estes has taken a narrow lead. Estes 30,708-Thompson 30,590.
9:55 pm: While we wait for more results here’s an ad Ron Estes put out a couple weeks ago:
And here’s an ad from Thompson which shows why he’s competitive in a red Kansas district. He’s not running against Trump in this ad, he’s borrowing some of Trump’s themes:
10:04 pm: Decision Desk HQ is still slightly ahead of the NY Times publishing results. Currently DDHQ shows 63.6 reporting and Estes leads 38,241 to 35,497.
RUSH: There’s a special election in Kansas today. I have to tell you this. You know, I’m on the mailing list for Jonathan Martin, who’s a reporter at the New York Times. He used to be at Politico. And that’s how I’m on the mailing list. I used to communicate email back and forth. He would email me asking for a quote on something, treating me, as he should, as a source authority. When he got to the New York Times, treating me as a source authority ceased and desisted, but he still sends me his stuff.
So he has a story in the New York Times today about the special election in Kansas, and I got the link to it last night. And I’m telling you that the entire Washington establishment led by the media is looking at this special election with laser-like focus. This is the seat that was held by Mike Pompeo. Mike Pompeo is now the CIA director. So the seat is open, necessitating the special election. It is in a district that encompasses part of Wichita, which happens to be where — dadelut dadelut dadelut — the Koch brothers are.
Koch Industries, the world headquarters is in Wichita, Kansas. Charles Koch lives there and is still there. David Koch, the other Koch brother, gallivants around New York. Charles Koch is still there. And they have another brother, Bill Koch, who is here. He’s got the most phenomenal (unintelligible) and won the America’s Cup way back when. Great guy. Anyway, I don’t know that the Koch brothers have anything to do with this. But Martin’s story and the media are hoping that the Democrats win this special election because if the Democrats win the special election in Kansas, it’ll mean that Trump doesn’t have any coattails.
It’ll mean that Trump’s lost his coattails. It’ll mean that Trumpism is over. It’ll mean that the people of America are fed up with Trump. That’s what they’re gonna say, all that and more, if the Democrats win this special election. Now, Pompeo owned this seat, but he’s not there. And the Democrats have poured a lot of money into it. The Republicans the same. And it’s fascinating. They’ve got every hope and dream that the establishment has that Trump is temporary, is not really president, it’s an illusion. Everybody’s living a nightmare. And it could all be proven if the Republicans do not hold this seat in the special election.
They’re hoping that what it’s going to show is that there’s distrust and anger and frustration with Trump because Trump violated so many campaign promises. Obamacare isn’t repealed, there aren’t any tax cuts, the wall hasn’t been built, and Trump launched a military strike against Syria. All of those things it is believed that Trump supporters despise, are angry at, and now hate Trump. And we’re gonna get all the proof in this special election when the results are known. Now, if the Republicans hold the seat, it’s gonna be a suicide watch. Well, maybe not. They’ll manufacture an excuse, blaming the Democrat candidate for lack of enough money or what have you. But they’re really salivating about it.
Next week, Tom Price's seat in Georgia will be up for special election. That one is expected to be closer.
