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Kansas Tag

Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes won the special election in the 4th district against Democratic civil rights attorney James Thompson. Estes won with 52% of the vote. Democrats tried to spin the win into a positive because the margin of victory was small. Naturally, many members of the political media joined them.

As we learned from Scott Brown's (R-MA) supermajority-breaking special election win in January of 2010, special elections can and sometimes do serve as harbingers for midterms.  There are three upcoming special elections to replace House members who have joined President Trump's cabinet, and each is turning out to be unexpectedly challenging for the GOP, who are expecting a low turnout in the wake of the Republicans gaining control of both Congress and the White House. Kansas, Georgia, and Montana will hold special elections this spring, and if the Democrats pick up one or more of these seats, their "resist we much" campaign will get a much-needed boost.