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Democrats Are Outraged Over Kansas House Seat Loss

Republican Ron Estes, who prevailed in a special election in Kansas's fourth congressional district / AP
April 12, 2017

Republicans continued their electoral winning streak on Tuesday night in the first congressional election of the Trump administration.

Republican Ron Estes beat Democrat James Thompson to be the next representative for the fourth congressional district of Kansas. Estes won 52.5 percent of the vote while Thompson took 45.7 percent of the vote. The seat was vacated by former congressman Mike Pompeo after he was confirmed to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency for the Trump administration.

The margin of victory for Tuesday's election was closer than in the 2016 election. In November, Pompeo won reelection in the district by 32 percent, while President Donald Trump won the district by 27 percent.

Now that the election is over, Democrats are trying to figure out who is to blame for the loss, and Twitter exploded with finger pointing. Some believe that the Democratic national party abandoned the race, while others argue that if the national party got involved, it would have hurt Thompson.

Former President Barack Obama's speechwriter Jon Favreau said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) shouldn't ignore races like the one in Kansas.

Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton suggested that people stop donating money to the DCCC.

"30 Rock" actor Judah Friedlander wondered why the DCCC didn't tweet about the Kansas election.

Democrat strategist Matt McDermott came to the defense of the DCCC.

McDermott found himself in an argument with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's Communications Director Mike Casca. Casca pointed out it was no secret that Thompson ran as a Democrat, which lead to them tweeting insults at one another.

Daily Beast reporter Gideon Resnick noted McDermott's past advice. During the 2016 election, McDermott said if anyone thought Trump could win Michigan and Pennsylvania, they should never work in politics again. It appears McDermott has since deleted the tweet.

Published under: Democratic Party , DNC