ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans pick their nominee Thursday for the south central Kansas congressional seat formerly held by CIA Director Mike Pompeo to represent a district the GOP has held for more than two decades.

GOP leaders are not taking the seat for granted amid the unpredictability of special elections and political unrest since the election of President Donald Trump.

The April 11 vote will be the nation’s first congressional election since Trump’s win. Democrats are hoping to channel voter discontent into an upset in the heavily Republican district.

Republicans have held the seat since Todd Tiahrt unseated veteran Democratic Rep. Dan Glickman in 1994. Pompeo won the state’s 4th District seat in 2010, when Tiahrt gave it up to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

Seven Republicans are seeking the nomination.