Barely three months after he lost the Kansas Republican primary, Rep. Tim Huelskamp has already filed for a 2018 rematch with a congressman who hasn’t yet been elected.
The uber-conservative incumbent lost to physician Roger Marshall in an expensive and bruising primary that had repercussions all the way to Washington.
Huelskamp filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 17. The Hutchinson News was the first to report on Huelskamp’s move.
Huelskamp is a member of the Freedom Caucus, a band of far-right lawmakers who forced a government shutdown in 2013 and drove former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, out of Congress.
Many members of the Freedom Caucus accuse House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., of not helping Huelskamp win the primary. Marshall, who had strong backing from big business, is on the Nov. 8 ballot with independent Alan LaPolice.
Many members of the Freedom Caucus accused House Speaker Paul Ryan of not helping Huelskamp win the primary.
LaPolice, an educator, nearly defeated Huelskamp in the 2014 Republican primary.
[Could a scrappy independent pull of an upset in conservative western Kansas?]
The 63-county “Big First” Congressional District in western Kansas has elected Republicans to the House of Representatives for more than a century. Former Sen. Bob Dole once had the seat, as did current Republican Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran.
[How a tea party rebel went down in Kansas // Voters booted him from Congress. But he’s still raising hell on his way out // U.S. Chamber of Commerce spends big to defeat Kansas Rep. Huelskamp // Firebrand Kansas congressman feels heat in Republican primary]
While Huelskamp certainly had a following, he’d also antagonized many of his colleagues and constituents with an abrasive personal style.
His tendency to pick fights with House Republican leaders got him removed from the House Agriculture Committee, which didn’t land well with the farming interests of the district.
Marshall had the backing of the Kansas Farm Bureau and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Curtis Tate: 202-383-6018, @tatecurtis