Ron Estes takes the victory call from President Trump. #ksgop pic.twitter.com/7edOlrTrAc

— Kansas GOP (@KansasGOP) April 12, 2017

By Kansas News Service /KMUW News

State Treasurer Ron Estes won the election to become the next Republican Congressman to represent the 4th District in Kansas. Estes defeated Democrat James Thompson by less than ten points. Libertarian Chris Rockhold was also on the ballot and drew two percent of the vote.

US HOUSE 4 MAP

Click on the county to view unofficial election results.

No Results	Thompson Winning	Thompson Won
	Rockhold Winning	Rockhold Won
	Estes Winning	Estes Won

In what was supposed to be a give-away for the Republicans in the red state of Kansas, an almost neck-and-neck race emerged in the early returns, which leaned toward Thompson. Estes gained ground through the evening and ended up with 53 percent of the vote over Thompson’s 46 percent. Rockhold received 2 percent of the total vote.

Following his victory, Estes, who has served as state treasurer for the past six years, told supporters that he’s ready to put his fiscally conservative experience to work in Congress.

“There’s several moving things in Congress right now,” Estes said. “Obviously, there’s still some discussion about Obamacare and repealing and replacing that. The other things that I know that is really up front in terms of engagement is tax reform.”

Estes’ election keeps the all-Republican congressional delegation for Kansas intact. The 4th District is historically Republican and was only considered competitive in the days leading up to the election.

Political analysts said Estes was favored to win throughout the two-month campaign cycle, despite Thompson’s growing base of support.

High-profile Republicans got involved in the race at the last minute, including President Trump. The president joined the effort for Estes through social media and get-out-the-vote calls.

Thompson called his campaign “people-powered” because much of his fundraising came from individual donors. Just days before the election, his campaign spokesman said they received financial support from more than 8,500 people.

The civil rights attorney said he was inspired by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the presidency last year and decided to run for the 4th District. A group that formed following Sanders candidacy, Our Revolution, supported Thompson during the campaign through social media and phone banking.

Thompson won the Kansas Democratic Party’s nomination in February by defeating a well-known politician, former State Treasurer Dennis McKinney.

In the last three congressional elections, Democratic challengers attracted only about 30 percent of the vote against Mike Pompeo.

Thompson’s only win Tuesday came in Sedgwick County, the most populous of the 17 counties in the Congressional District. There he had 50 percent of the vote to Estes’ 48 percent.

Thompson said he plans to run for Congress again in 2018.

“I wanted to run in 2018 one way or the other,” he said. “Seeing everybody here, and I know where we need to go to fix what w weren’t able to do in 60 days. We’ll come back in 2018 stronger and be able to win it.”

Analysts say Libertarian candidate Chris Rockhold’s bid for public office was a long-shot. Rockhold said one reason why he decided to enter the race was to get name recognition for the Libertarian Party.

Libertarian Gary Johnson received more than 55,000 votes in Kansas (4.7 percent) when he ran for president last fall.

Libertarian candidate Gordon Bakken received just 2.8 percent of the vote in last fall’s election for the 4th District seat. Mike Pompeo was re-elected with 60 percent of the vote and served until President Trump tapped Pompeo to become CIA Director.

Republicans have held the 4th District seat for more than two decades. In last year’s presidential race, Trump easily won with 60 percent of the votes cast in the 17-county congressional district of south-central Kansas.

Neal Allen, a professor of political science at Wichita State University, said Tuesday’s election was “much closer than it should have been.”

“The key question is whether the weakness of Estes tonight was due to his shortcomings as a candidate, the weakness of the state party under Brownback, or a sign of Trump’s national unpopularity,” he said. “It probably took all three to get Thompson this close.”

Allen said Thompson’s strong showing could help recruit Democratic candidates in future races.

The 4th District special election is the first of five House elections that are taking place through the end of June. Republicans are defending three other GOP-leaning seats, and Democrats are protecting territory in California. The open seats are in Georgia’s 6th District, Montana’s at-large district, South Carolina’s 5th District and California’s 34th District.

Hugo Phan, Aileen LeBlanc and Nadya Faulx contributed to this report.

SALINE COUNTY – Three people were injured in an accident just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday in Saline County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy passenger vehicle driven by Lawson Constable, 18, Minneapolis, was southbound on Brookville Road two miles north of Brookville.

The vehicle crossed the center line and struck an ATV driven by Jed Burr, 39, Salina.

The Chevy then traveled back into the right lane and struck a utility vehicle driven by Jordan Lindquist, 19, Brookville.

The Chevy continued off the road, traveled through the ditch into a pasture, up a hill and then rolled back into the ditch.

Constable, Burr and Lindquist were transported to the hospital in Salina.
Burr and Lindquist were not wearing helmets, according to the KHP.

FINNEY COUNTY – School district and law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating an alleged threat against a school and have made an arrest.
On Monday, the school resource officer assigned to the Garden City High School received information of threats of violent acts over social media that would occur at an undisclosed Garden City School, according to a media release.
With the help of USD 457 authorities identified the person responsible for the social media threats. He was identified as Alan Marquez,14, of Garden City.
Police located him and arrested him at his residence. He is being held in the Juvenile Detention Center and could face the possible charges of Criminal Threat.
At no time were any school, facility or students in immediate danger, according to police.

WICHITA – A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for his part in robbing a local bank, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Andre Bryant, 30, Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting or brandishing a firearm in a crime of violence.

In his plea, he admitted that on June 13, 2016, he and co-defendants robbed the Carson Bank at 4461 E. Douglas in Wichita.

Two individuals who were disguised entered the bank, one of them brandishing a firearm. They demanded and received money before fleeing. The money they received contained a global positioning device that police used to track Bryant and the co-defendants and arrest them.

Co-defendants Raishat Magill and Elijah Shelton are set for sentencing Thursday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old drove into a Lawrence duplex, sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the crash happened Monday night when the boy failed to negotiate a turn. The car he was driving hit a curb before crashing through a duplex wall. The vehicle was nearly entirely inside the building when it came to a stop.

The boy fled the scene on foot. Lawrence Police Department spokeswoman Kim Murphree said in an email that he was later found and cited on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a valid driver’s license.

The girl who was riding in the passenger seat wasn’t hurt. But Murphree says both people inside the home were taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

SEDGWICK COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County have confirmed how a Wichita police K-9 died.

On March 28, officials at Kansas State University conducted a necropsy on Wichita Police Department K9 Rooster, according to Wichita police spokesperson Sgt. Nikki Woodrow during Tuesday’s online media briefing.

The results of the examination showed the dog sustained a gunshot wound to the left shoulder. The bullet traveled through his body hitting vital organs and exiting the right side.

Due to the trajectory of the bullet, evidence at the scene and video, investigators determined the bullet that killed Rooster was fired by 25-year-old Kevin Perry during a domestic disturbance call.

On March 26, officers responding to the domestic disturbance surrounded a home before 25- Perry walked out with a gun in his waistband. Rooster was sent after the suspect to stop him from re-entering the home.
That’s when gunfire was exchanged, striking both the dog and the man.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Multi-state crime spree suspect Alex Deaton’s cases in Mississippi’s Rankin County will be presented to a grand jury this month.

But District Attorney Michael Guest tells WLBT-TV that it will be a while before he stands trial in the Magnolia state.

Guest says Kansas authorities have notified his office that they intend to bring Deaton to trial for crimes there before returning him to Mississippi. He says that trial will happen no earlier than six months from now.

Deaton is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, theft, armed robbery and personal felony after shooting a convince store clerk in Pratt.

In Mississippi, he faces murder charges for the deaths of his girlfriend and another woman, and aggravated assault after the shooting of a jogger. He also faces carjacking charges in New Mexico.