Republican Ron Estes on Tuesday won a special election to replace Mike Pompeo as the Kansas 4th Congressional District representative, the Associated Press reported.
“Tonight, Republicans emerged victorious in the first contested special election of the 2018 cycle,” Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a release.
“By electing Ron Estes, Kansas rejected the far-left policies of liberal activists and voted to keep delivering on the promises we made to the American people,” Stivers said. “I am proud to welcome Ron to Congress and look forward to working with him in the years to come.”
Estes, the state’s treasurer, had been the favorite to win the election, but a campaign by Democrat James Thompson threatened the traditionally Republican seat.
In response, Republicans made last-minute efforts to campaign for Estes. According to the Associated Press, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made recordings for phone calls to voters in the region, urging them to vote for Estes. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also campaigned for Estes in Wichita.
The special election was called after Republican Mike Pompeo was appointed director of the CIA by Trump in November.
