Besides a crowded gubernatorial race, Democrats have primaries in two of the state’s four congressional races.
3rd Congressional District
The 3rd Congressional District, which covers Miami, Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, has nine candidates – six Democrats and three Republicans. It’s a surprisingly crowded field of candidates considering the incumbent, Kevin Yoder, is seeking reelection.
It’s most likely the crowded field says something about the district’s disappointment with Trump and the Republican Party.
The 3rd District is a rather equally split district. In the 2016 presidential election, Hilary Clinton carried the district 46% to 47%. The District was represented by Democrat Dennis Moore from 1999 – 2011, and the Democrats have a reason to believe that with a big turnout, they can take this seat back.
Democrats in the race include:
Sharice Davids One of two females in the Democratic field, Davids is a Native American from humble beginnings. She graduated from Johnson County Community College and went on to get her law degree from Cornell University. She was a White House Fellow for a year and served during the transition from the Obama to the Trump White House. She supports repeal of the corporate tax cut recently passed and instead supports a true tax cut for the middle class. She also supports a child care tax credit, will not accept campaign contributions from the gun lobby, will vote to expand background checks to get guns and higher standards for conceal and carry. She also supports a pathway to citizenship for DREAMERS.
Mike McCamon He identifies as a moderate who will lead from the center. A technology worker, he says he will work to end gridlock in congress by working with others. He supports the Affordable Care Act, common-sense gun laws, campaign finance reform, and caring immigration solutions. For gun laws, he supports expanded background checks for guns, allowing the Center for Disease Control to conduct research on gun violations and a ban on assault weapons. He would vote to repeal Citizens United, which treats companies as individuals when it comes to campaign contributions, and he also supports amnesty for DREAMERS.
Tom Niermann A 26-year teacher, Niermann decided to run for congress because he says only a handful of congressmen represent working families. He supports working toward universal health coverage and a clean DREAM Act with a clear path to citizenship for those already in the country. As a teacher, he’s especially concerned about education issues. He proposes making community college free, expanding Pell Grants to cover the middle class, cracking down on predatory schools and lenders, and leaning on states to fully fund their universities. For guns, he supports universal background checks and keeping guns from domestic violence abusers.
Jay Sidie was the 2016 Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional Seat. While that race was rated by Ballotpedia as one to watch, Sidie came up short, winning 40.6% of the vote. Yoder received 51.3% and the Libertarian candidate receive 8%. Sidie started and owns a consulting business he began after leaving the corporate world, where he was involved in commodities trading. Sidie supports allowing Americans to buy prescriptions drugs from Canada and placing price restrictions on drugs, like Canada does. He supports a pathway to citizenship for DREAMERS, increasing the number of available H-1B visas, and dismantling ICE. He also supports debt-free college programs, a national paid leave program and legalizing medical marijuana.
Brent Welder grew up from modest beginnings in Iowa and worked his way through college. He’s a labor lawyer and national workers’ rights advocate. He’s running because he’s tired of big corporations calling the shots in Washington, that’s why he refused to accept corporate PAC money. He supports overturning Trump’s corporate tax cut, $15 minimum wage, Medicare for all, fighting against discriminatory hiring practices for minority workers, fair, compassionate immigration reform that doesn’t break up families, debt-free college, free pre-K for every child and common-sense gun reform.
Sylvia Williams is a fifth-generation Kansan raised in rural Southeast Kansas. She has a degree in accounting and an MBA, and spent 29 years working in financial institutions, many of those years as a senior manager. She supports Medicare for all, paid family leave, and minimum wage that is adjusted annually tied to the cost of living, For gun control, she supports universal background checks, age limits for certain purchases and the reinstatement of restrictions on military-style weapons.
4th Congressional District
Laura Lombard is the founder and executive director of a professional trade association of experts doing business in the Middle East. She supports reforming the Affordable Care Act rather than dismantling or repealing it. Increasing quality of service for veterans, overhauling immigration systems to protect the interest of Americans, and working to address increases in healthcare and pharmaceutical costs. She would also advocate for new government financial aid relief programs including debt forgiveness.
James Thompson was the Democratic candidate in a special April 2017 election to fill the congressional seat vacated by Mike Pompeo, who resigned to accept a position as the director of the CIA in the Trump administration. The election was the first congressional election to take place following Trump’s election.
Trump won the 4th District in 2016 by 27 points and Pompeo had pulled a margin of victory of 31 points. However, an unpopular Republican governor and Democrats upset by a Trump win, made this race much closer than originally expected. Thompson eventually lost the race to then Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes, but only by 6 points. On election night, Thompson pledged to return to finish what he started, but first he has to get through his primary opponent, Lombard.
The last time a Democrat was elected from Kansas’ 4th Congressional District was in 1992.
Thompson is an Army veteran and civil rights attorney. He used his GI Bill to attend Wichita State University and Washburn Law School. He is running for Congress because he believes our elected officials should ensure people up and down the economic ladder have the ability to build better, brighter futures for themselves and their children. Once in Congress, James will fight for a living wage, better schools and quality education without the burden of crushing debt, affordable health care, and a criminal justice system that treats everyone equally.
