Ron Estes KS-04

Ron Estes

Summary

Current Position: US Representative since 2017
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Treasurer of Kansas from 2011 – 2017
District:  the district encompasses the city of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, three universities, Arkansas City, and the State of Kansas’s only national airport. 
Upcoming Election:

A fifth-generation Kansan, Estes studied engineering and business at Tennessee Tech. He began his career as a consultant and executive in various manufacturing and service industries. Estes was elected treasurer of Sedgwick County in 2004 and reelected in 2008.

Featured Quote: 
Thanks to #BidenInflation, prices are going to continue to rise. The American people are now burdened with additional costs because this administration continues to push their failing economic policies.

Ron Estes Faces Off Against Ron Estes In Kansas | All In | MSNBC

OnAir Post: Ron Estes KS-04

News

About

Source: Government page

Ron Estes 1Ron Estes is a 5th generation Kansan and serves Kansas’ 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since being sworn into office on April 25, 2017, Congressman Estes has been a leader on passing landmark tax reform, rolling back burdensome regulations, reforming our immigration system and finding solutions to affordable health care for Kansans. In Congress, Rep. Estes has also defended Wichita’s aviation industry, helped pass a five-year Farm Bill to support Kansas agriculture, protected the Fourth District’s water supply and quality of life, and led efforts to secure new pro-life guidelines for the Title X Family Planning Program.

The son of a veteran, Rep. Estes has also prioritized supporting our military and military families, while helping veterans and constituents navigate government agencies like the VA, Social Security Administration, the IRS and others.

Prior to becoming an elected official, Rep. Estes grew up on his family farm in Kansas and went on to earn a degree in civil engineering and a graduate degree in business administration. Rep. Estes began his career in consulting and management roles for industries including aerospace, energy and manufacturing. An engineer by trade, he successfully implemented a variety of systems that streamlined operations, increased efficiency and improved customer relations – all while cutting cost. That experience in the private sector has helped position Rep. Estes as a committed advocate for Kansas taxpayers in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Following his private sector career, Rep. Estes served his fellow Kansans as Sedgwick County (Kansas) Treasurer and then Kansas State Treasurer. As the only former state treasurer serving in the House and a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, Rep. Estes remains a champion of lower taxes, free and fair trade, and affordable health care.

Ron and his wife, Susan, have three children and reside in Wichita.

Personal

Full Name: Ron Gene Estes

Gender: Male

Family: Wife: Susan; 3 Children

Birth Date: 07/19/1956

Birth Place: Topeka, KS

Home City: Wichita, KS

Religion: Christian

Source: Vote Smart

Education

BA, Civil Engineering, Tennessee Technological University

MBA, Business Administration, Tennessee Technological University

Political Experience

Representative, United States House of Representatives, District 4, 2017-present

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, Kansas, District 4, 2022

Treasurer, State of Kansas, 2011-2017

Treasurer, Sedgwick County, Kansas, 2004-2010

Professional Experience

Former Employee, Bombardier Learjet

Former Employee, Koch Industries

Former Employee, Procter & Gambl

Offices

WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE2411 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6216

WICHITA DISTRICT OFFICE

7701 E. Kellogg, Ste. 510
Wichita, KS 67207
Phone: (316) 262-8992

Contact

Email: Government

Web Links

Politics

Source: none

Election Results

To learn more, go to this wikipedia section in this post.

Finances

Source: Open Secrets

Committees

Committee on Ways and Means
          Subcommittee on Trade
Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures (Taxes)
Subcommittee on Social Security

Joint Economic Committee

 

Caucuses 

Congressional Western Caucus
Republican Study Committee

New Legislation

Sponsored and Cosponsored

Issues

Source: Government page

More Information

Services

Source: Government page

District

Source: Wikipedia

Kansas’s 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Based in the south central part of the state, the district encompasses the city of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, three universities, Arkansas City, and the State of Kansas’s only national airport.

The 4th congressional district is historically a strongly Republican district,[3][4][5][6] almost exclusively represented, over the last half century, by Republicans—with the sole exception of moderate Democrat Dan Glickman, who lost his bid for re-election to a 10th term in 1994.[6][7]

As of mid-April 2017 (following a special election to fill the district seat left vacant by Mike Pompeo’s resignation to become CIA Director), no other Democrat has won election to the Congressional seat lost by Glickman,[8] which has since gone to conservative, anti-abortion Republicans,[5][9][10][11] routinely, by a roughly two-to-one margin in subsequent races—with the exception of the April 11, 2017 special election, in which Democrat James Thompson managed to narrow the gap with Republican victor Ron Estes to only 6.2%.

Wikipedia

Ronald Gene Estes (/ˈɛstɪs/ ESS-tiss; born July 19, 1956) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Kansas’s 4th congressional district since April 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Kansas State Treasurer from 2011 to 2017.

A fifth-generation Kansan, Estes studied engineering and business at Tennessee Tech. He began his career as a consultant and executive in various manufacturing and service industries. Estes was elected treasurer of Sedgwick County in 2004 and reelected in 2008. He was elected Kansas State Treasurer in 2010 and reelected in 2014. After U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo resigned to become Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Estes won the special election for the seat and was sworn in on April 25, 2017. He is the dean of Kansas’s House delegation.

Early life and education

Estes was born in Topeka, Kansas, and is a fifth-generation Kansan.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Tech, where he was selected for membership in Omicron Delta Kappa – The National Leadership Honor Society.[4]

Career

Business

Estes worked in consulting and management roles in the aerospace, oil and gas, automotive, and several other manufacturing and service industries, working for several companies, including Andersen Consulting, Procter & Gamble, Koch Industries, and Bombardier Learjet.[5]

County treasurer

Estes was elected treasurer of Sedgwick County, Kansas, home to Wichita, in 2004,[4] and reelected in 2008.[5] During his political career, he also served as treasurer for the Kansas County Treasurer’s Association, and in several posts in the Republican Party, including vice chair of the Kansas Republican Party.[4]

Kansas State Treasurer

Estes ran for Kansas State Treasurer in 2010 against incumbent Democrat Dennis McKinney.[4] Estes was the first statewide elected official from Wichita in two decades.[3] He was reelected in 2014, defeating Carmen Alldritt.[6]

As state treasurer, Estes managed more than $24 billion in public money and he came in under budget by over $600,000.[7] He made it a priority to tell Kansans about unclaimed money, such as funds from forgotten bank accounts.[5] In 2016, Estes said his office had returned $100 million in unclaimed property since 2010.[5]

In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Estes endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination in February, before Kansas’s presidential caucuses.[5] Estes served in the Electoral College and cast his electoral vote for Donald Trump.[8][5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2017 special election

Mike Pompeo, who represented Kansas’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, resigned on January 23, 2017, to become Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.[9] On February 9, Estes won the Republican nomination to run in the special election to determine Pompeo’s successor.[10] Estes won with 66 of 126 votes in a special nominating convention held at Friends University.[10]

The Democratic nominee in the special election was James Thompson, a Wichita lawyer and veteran. Estes was endorsed by many Republicans, including President Donald Trump,[11] Vice President Mike Pence,[11] Senator Ted Cruz,[12] House Speaker Paul Ryan,[12] and Governor Sam Brownback. He was also endorsed by the editorial board of The Wichita Eagle.[7]

The National Republican Congressional Committee contributed $92,000, in part for “inflammatory and false” advertisements supporting Estes, which characterized Thompson as an advocate of taxpayer-funded, late-term abortions, and as an advocate for gender-selection abortion.[13] According to April 10, 2017, fundraising reports, Estes had raised $459,000 to Thompson’s $292,000.[13][14][15][16]

Estes won the special election on April 11, 2017, 52.2% to 46%.[17]

2018 regular election

In the 2018 election, Estes was challenged in the primary by a candidate with a similar name, Ron M. Estes.[18] This led to a conundrum as to how the candidates should be distinguished on the ballot, with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach deciding that Ron G. Estes could include the prefix “Rep.” on the ballot according to Kansas law, although Ron M. Estes complained that this was unfair.[18] The incumbent won with 81.4% of the vote.[19] In the general election, Estes defeated James Thompson in a rematch with 59.4% of the vote.[20]

Tenure

Estes was sworn into office on April 25, 2017.

In December 2017, Estes voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[21] In an op-ed for the Wichita Eagle, he said he was “confident it will make a real difference for families and businesses in Kansas”, that it would provide economic and job growth, and that workers would see larger paychecks. Estes says the tax-filing process had been simplified, even though the process remains the same.[22]

In July 2017, Estes received national attention for interrupting Representative Kathleen Rice mid-sentence while she asked a question at a Homeland Security subcommittee hearing. Rice tweeted “Day in the life. Worth noting there are men from both parties who don’t act like this” and included a video of the exchange. Estes explained that he was simply trying to follow committee rules after Rice’s time was up.[23]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Abortion

Estes calls himself “proudly pro-life” and supports defunding Planned Parenthood.[5][27] In the only election debate he attended, where he joined Democrat James Thompson and the campaign manager for Libertarian candidate Chris Rockhold, he repeated the claim that Planned Parenthood had been profiting by selling parts of aborted fetuses.[28]

Economic issues

Estes supports a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution and reducing corporate and some personal income tax rates.[7]

Health care

During the 2017 special election campaign, Estes said that he believes that the American Health Care Act of 2017 did not go far enough to uproot and eliminate the Affordable Care Act, seeking complete repeal.[5][7]

Texas v. Pennsylvania

In December 2020, Estes was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated[29] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[30][31][32]

Israel

Estes voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[33][34]

Personal life

Ron and his wife, Susan, have three children.[3] His family operates a farm in Osage County, Kansas.[3] Susan Estes is a member of the Kansas House of Representatives.[35]

Electoral history

Kansas Treasurer election, 2010[36]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes481,70458.5
DemocraticDennis McKinney (inc.)341,32441.4
Kansas Treasurer election, 2014[37]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes (inc.)570,11067.5
DemocraticCarmen Alldritt274,25732.4
Republican Convention[38]
CandidateFirst BallotPct.Second BallotPct.
Ron Estes5846%6652%
Alan Cobb2822%4334%
Todd Tiahrt2016%1714%
Joseph Ashby108%Eliminated
George Bruce108%Eliminated
Kansas’s 4th congressional district special election, 2017[39]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes64,04452.2%
DemocraticJames Thompson56,43546.1%
LibertarianChris Rockhold2,1151.7%
Total votes122,594 100.0%
2018 Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes (incumbent) 57,522 81.4
RepublicanRon M. Estes13,15918.6
Total votes70,681 100.0
Kansas’ 4th congressional district, 2018
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes (incumbent) 144,248 59.4
DemocraticJames Thompson98,44540.6
Total votes242,693 100.0
Republican hold
2020 Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes (incumbent) 87,877 100.0
Total votes87,877 100.0
Kansas’s 4th congressional district, 2020
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanRon Estes (incumbent) 203,432 63.7
DemocraticLaura Lombard116,16636.3
Total votes319,598 100.0
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. ^ “Estes living a charmed political life”. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  2. ^ “Kizzire picked as new Sedgwick County treasurer”. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d “Meet Ron Estes”. Kansas State Treasurer Office of the Kansas State Treasurer and the people of Kansas. Topeka, Kansas. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Gruver, Deb (January 29, 2010). “County Treasurer Estes to run for same office at state level”. The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Curry, Tom (April 12, 2017). “Estes a Stalwart but Unflashy Conservative”. Roll Call. Washington, DC. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  6. ^ Calovich, Annie; Lowry, Bryan (November 4, 2014). “Republican Selzer to be next Kansas insurance commissioner”. The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Turkewitz, Julie (April 12, 2017). “Who Is Ron Estes, Kansas’ Newest Congressman?”. The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  8. ^ “Missouri and Kansas Electoral College voters pick Trump, despite protests”. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  9. ^ “Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS04) resignation letter read in House after Senate CIA Director confirmation”. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  10. ^ a b “Estes wins GOP nomination for Pompeo seat”. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Woodall, Hunter. Trump tweets support for Ron Estes on special election day in Kansas’ 4th District, Kansas City Star, April 11, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Shorman, Jonathan. Bryan Lowry & Dion Lefler. [1], The Wichita Eagle, April 7, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Weigel, Dave (April 10, 2017). “Republicans undertake unexpected rescue mission in deep red Kansas”. The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Lefler, Dion (April 8, 2017). “Anti-Thompson ad inflammatory and false, says professor who moderated debate”. The Wichita Eagle. Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  15. ^ Ron Estes, a Republican, Survives Tight House Race to Win Kansas Seat, New York Times, John Eligon & Jonathan Martin, April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  16. ^ Fenwick, Cody (April 12, 2017). “Kansas Special Election: Republican Ron Estes Wins House Seat In Tight Race”. Patch. Wichita, Kansas. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  17. ^ Ron Estes, a Republican, Survives Tight House Race to Win Kansas Seat, New York Times, John Eligon and Jonathan Martin, April 11, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Shorman, Jonathan (May 31, 2018). “Ron Estes is running against Ron Estes”. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  19. ^ “Kansas Primary Election Results: Fourth House District”. The New York Times. September 24, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  20. ^ “Kansas House Results”. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  21. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (December 19, 2017). “How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill”. The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  22. ^ Estes, Ron. “Rep. Ron Estes: Congress delivers on tax reform”. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  23. ^ “House Dem jests: It’s ‘nice’ that not all male colleagues interrupt her”. July 29, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  24. ^ “Committees | U.S. Representative Ron Estes”. estes.house.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  25. ^ “Members”. Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  26. ^ “Member List”. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  27. ^ According to Roll Call: On his campaign website, he said, “I am proudly pro-life, and as your congressman, I will lead the fight to protect the unborn. One of my top priorities will be to defund Planned Parenthood. American taxpayers should not be forced to fund organizations that perform abortions.”
  28. ^ Congressional front-runners Estes, Thompson clash in first debate, Wichita Eagle, Dion Lefler & Daniel Salazar, March 23, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  29. ^ Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). “Biden officially secures enough electors to become president”. AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  30. ^ Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). “Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  31. ^ “Order in Pending Case” (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  32. ^ Diaz, Daniella. “Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court”. CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  33. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). “House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  34. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). “Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session”. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ “Representative Susan Estes”. Kslegislature.org. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  36. ^ “Kansas Secretary of State 2010 Official Vote Totals” (PDF). Kansas Office of the Secretary of State.
  37. ^ “Kansas Secretary of State 2014 Official Vote Totals” (PDF). Kansas Office of the Secretary of State.
  38. ^ Hagen, Lisa (February 10, 2017). “Kansas treasurer wins GOP nomination to fill House seat”. The Hill. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  39. ^ “2017 Unofficial Kansas Election Results”. www.sos.ks.gov. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
Party political offices
Preceded by

Republican nominee for Kansas State Treasurer
2010, 2014
Succeeded by

Political offices
Preceded by

Treasurer of Kansas
2011–2017
Succeeded by

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas’s 4th congressional district

2017–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by

United States representatives by seniority
213th
Succeeded by


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