Republican incumbent Mike Pompeo retains seat in Congress
Mike Pompeo meets with The Sunflower in November 2016. At the time, Pompeo, who is now U.S. Secretary of State, was a Kansas congressman.
Mike Pompeo will stay in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 4th District in Kansas for at least two more years.
Pompeo was reelected to a fourth term in the House. He was first elected in 2010 and won reelection in 2012, 2014 and Tuesday night. Pompeo defeated challengers Dan Giroux, Miranda Allen and Gordon Bakken.
He told The Sunflower in an interview earlier this month he ran for reelection because he has not reached the goals in his conservative political views yet.
“I’ve served in Congress the entire time with the President from the other party that had a deeply different view of how American ought to proceed,” Pompeo said. “I have not been able to accomplish what we’ve hoped to accomplish. There’s still more work to do.”
Pompeo has been critical of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. At a debate with his challengers in September held at Wichita State, Pompeo called Obamacare a failure. His solution is implementing a system that puts health care decisions back in the hands of the people who are affected by it directly.
“It’s very difficult for these critical access care hospitals to survive and the Affordable Care Act has made that much more difficult,” Pompeo said.
During the 4th District debate in September, Pompeo said he understands what opportunity and freedom are all about and said he’s worked hard to make sure every Kansan has those rights.
“We need a heck of a lot more Kansas in Washington and a heck of a lot less Washington in Kansas,” he said.
One of Pompeo’s other main objectives is national security. He works with law enforcement agencies as well as serving on the House Intelligence Committee. Americans are more at risk from radical Islamic terrorists than eight years ago, Pompeo said.
Pompeo endorsed Donald Trump for president, in part because “a Republican Congress with Donald Trump will be far more effective at protecting the things that matter to the people I represent.”
Pompeo will face another election to the House in 2018.
