The National Association of Wheat Growers endorsed insurgent Roger Marshall against incumbent Rep. Tim Huelskamp, the latest in a series of farm groups to back the challenger in the deadlocked Republican primary in the “Big First” congressional district of Kansas. NAWG said Marshall is dedicated “to giving Kansas wheat farmers a voice in Washington,” a reference to Huelskamp’s removal from the House Agriculture Committee in 2012 and his vote against the 2014 farm law.
The GOP race is “much too close to call,” according to a poll by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, of Fort Hays State University. The telephone survey of likely voters, conducted from July 11-21 said 40.9 percent supported Marshall, 40.3 percent backed Huelskamp, 15.3 percent were undecided and 3.4 percent backed someone else; the margin of error was 6.8 percent. In a follow-up question, people who described themselves as very likely to vote on Aug. 2 were slightly more likely to back Marshall over Huelskamp, 44-40, with 12 percent undecided.
In a dyed-in-the-wool Republican district where farming and ranching is a major industry, Marshall has made service on the Agriculture Committee a test of devotion to the district. When House Republican leaders ousted Huelskamp as an obstructionist, it was the first time in a century that the district did not have a seat on the committee.
“As a native Kansan, Marshall values the hard work of farmers, the importance of protecting crop insurance and the farm economy, and projecting the voices of Kansas farmers into DC, where Kansas has not had representation on the House Agriculture Committee for four years,” said the wheat growers in its endorsement.
Key farm groups, such as the Kansas Livestock Association, an early backer, and the Kansas Farm Bureau, have endorsed Marshall, along with dairy, corn and sorghum groups. Public broadcaster KCUR-FM says, “For the first time in anyone’s memory, the Kansas Farm Bureau, one of the state’s most powerful political and business groups, gave its nod to an outsider over the guy it helped put in office in the first place.”
Huelskamp says he fights for conservative principles in Congress and that he’s mended fences with party leaders so he’ll be back on the Agriculture Committee in time for the 2018 farm bill. Marshall says as a peacemaker, he will get a seat. Both men describe themselves as fifth-generation farmers and strong conservatives.
Incumbents rarely lose their seats in primaries – only three have been defeated so far this year.
The “Big First” covers the western two-thirds of Kansas, a land area bigger than the state of Illinois. It produced $14 billion in farm and ranch goods in 2012, the third highest total of any congressional district.