GOP civil war takes down Kansas incumbent

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., known for his unwavering conservative record and refusal to bend to party leadership, lost the Kansas Republican primary last night to a money-backed newcomer—highlighting the war within the party.

Roger Marshall, an obstetrician from Great Bend, Kan., defeated the three-term incumbent by 13 points, making Huelskamp the first non-scandal and non-redistricted incumbent to lose a primary this cycle.

Huelskamp is a prominent member of the anti-establishment House Freedom Caucus. He has a 92 percent rating from Heritage Action—tied for ninth best in the House—and a perfect score from the Family Research Council for defending faith, family, and freedom. But Marshall was able to connect with voters in Kansas farm country by portraying Huelskamp as a Washington insider who makes too much trouble to get anything done.

In late 2012, former House Speaker John Boehner retaliated against Huelskamp for voting against the Republican budget proposal—booting him off the budget and agriculture committees. Kansas’ first district has been a mainstay on the agriculture committee for more than 100 years, and Kansas farmers had a tough time standing by their congressman when his hardball tactics lost his seat at the table.

The district, known locally as the Big First, stretches across 60,000 square miles of western and central Kansas and contains more cows than people. This election created tension between Republicans in the district—squaring ideological conservatives against traditional GOP donors.

Huelskamp is a fifth-generation farmer with a Ph.D. in agriculture policy, but Marshall was able to convince voters he could be a more effective Washington advocate for rural Kansas.

The Big First has not elected a Democrat since 1952. Marshall does not have a Democratic challenger in November, although an independent has filed to run, but most expect Marshall to easily take the seat after last night’s primary victory.

Marshall has never held political office but benefitted from the support of agricultural and businesses groups and an endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Both candidates raised more than $700,000 for the campaign, but special interest groups, favoring Marshall, spent nearly $3 million.

Groups such as the Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, and National Association of Wheat Growers were noncommittal in 2014 but quickly endorsed Marshall this time around. And Ending Spending Action Fund, a Republican super PAC, spent more than $1 million to defeat Huelskamp because it thought he burned too many bridges.

“People regularly overuse the word ‘historic’—but this actually is,” said Brian Baker, president of ESAFund, according to Politico. “Incumbents very rarely lose, which tells us that voters are demanding that Republicans in Congress work together to advance a fiscally conservative agenda to actually end out-of-control spending—not just grandstand.”

Since World War II, more than 98 percent of incumbents have won their primaries. Huelskamp joins Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., and Reps. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., and Randy Forbes, R-Va., as the only incumbents to lose this cycle. Fattah is under criminal indictment while Ellmers and Forbes struggled in their primaries after court-ordered redistricting in their states.

Early in the presidential primary season, Huelskamp supported Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a fellow anti-establishment member of Congress. After Donald Trump defeated Cruz to capture the Republican nomination for president, Huelskamp became a reluctant supporter.

Marshall’s money allowed him to purchase hours of attack ads. He went after Huelskamp’s record, even claiming he had secret backing from Planned Parenthood. Huelskamp and his wife have adopted four children and he has endorsements from National Right to Life and Kansans for Life.

But Marshall found plenty of ammo to attack his opponent. He took a page out of Trump’s playbook and bought the website domain LyinTim.com to paint Huelskamp as a do-nothing politician, unpopular with his colleagues. He often told Kansas voters they can’t trust Huelskamp in Washington because he had burned too many bridges to have a voice.

In 2012, Huelskamp voted against a Republican-backed farm bill that benefited farmers with millions in crop insurance. The congressmen pushed back on the legislation because it designated $750 million in new welfare initiatives which Huelskamp felt amounted to government overreach.

But that became another sticking point for Marshall’s campaign. He told voters Huelskamp preferred to brawl with his colleagues rather than fight for the interests of Kansas farmers.

“I’m not up here to take on a battle with my own party, but I have to stand on my principles,” Huelskamp said at the time. “Taking on Washington sometimes means taking on your own party.”