The new congressman from the 1st District is Tim Huelskamp, a Republican who won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Jerry Moran. Huelskamp (HYUELS-kamp) was born in Fowler, Kan., and from an early age worked on the farm that his grandparents founded in 1925. He was valedictorian of his high school graduating class and was active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. He said that his “first political realization” was President Carter’s imposition of a grain embargo against the Soviet Union in January 1980, when Huelskamp was 11 years old. “I realized that what happens in Washington impacts the prices that we received” as farmers, he recalled. He became enamored of Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan. “He had a way of communicating basic American principles and concerns in a way that people really got it,” Huelskamp said. He briefly attended a seminary in Santa Fe, N.M., and later graduated from the College of Santa Fe, working part-time as a budget and legislative analyst for the state government while still in school. He decided to further his studies in government and graduated from American University in Washington in four years with a doctorate in political science, specializing in agricultural policy. He then went back to Fowler to work on the family farm. Read More

The new congressman from the 1st District is Tim Huelskamp, a Republican who won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Jerry Moran. Huelskamp (HYUELS-kamp) was born in Fowler, Kan., and from an early age worked on the farm that his grandparents founded in 1925. He was valedictorian of his high school graduating class and was active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. He said that his “first political realization” was President Carter’s imposition of a grain embargo against the Soviet Union in January 1980, when Huelskamp was 11 years old. “I realized that what happens in Washington impacts the prices that we received” as farmers, he recalled. He became enamored of Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan. “He had a way of communicating basic American principles and concerns in a way that people really got it,” Huelskamp said. He briefly attended a seminary in Santa Fe, N.M., and later graduated from the College of Santa Fe, working part-time as a budget and legislative analyst for the state government while still in school. He decided to further his studies in government and graduated from American University in Washington in four years with a doctorate in political science, specializing in agricultural policy. He then went back to Fowler to work on the family farm.

In 1996, Huelskamp won a seat in the state Senate, becoming the youngest member there in 20 years. He authored the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment that voters passed in 2005, and was active on anti-abortion rights issues. In 2009, Huelskamp called for legislation to deny federal funding used by Planned Parenthood for family planning programs in Kansas. His maverick ways got him in hot water with the Republican leadership, and in 2003, he lost his seat on the Ways and Means Committee; Huelskamp said it was because he opposed wasteful spending, but two state Republican leaders told The Topeka Capital-Journal in 2010 he was booted off because he would not work with the leadership.

He initially considered running for the 1st District seat in 2005, but Republican Rep. Jerry Moran decided to run for re-election, and Huelskamp awaited his next chance. That came in 2010, when Moran decided to challenge GOP Sen. Sam Brownback, after Brownback announced he would run for governor.

Huelskamp faced five challengers in the GOP primary, including state Sen. Jim Barnett, who lost the 2008 governor’s race to Democrat Kathleen Sebelius; Tracey Mann, a Salina real estate agent; and Rob Wasinger, a former chief of staff to Brownback. The candidates differed little in their conservative message, but Huelskamp distinguished himself by picking up endorsements from the National Rifle Association and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. One of his television ads boasted, “He’s not one of those weak-kneed Republicans.” Huelskamp won with 35% of the vote. Barnett drew 25% and Mann received 21%, while the others were in single digits.

His general election opponent was Democrat Alan Jilka, a former Salina mayor who campaigned as a pragmatic problem-solver. But Huelskamp held a commanding lead in fundraising. He took in more than $1.2 million compared to Jilka’s $162,000. The district’s conservative tilt assured Huelskamp an easy 74%-23% victory.

In Washington, Huelskamp joined the Tea Party Caucus and landed a seat on the Budget Committee, a rare plum for a freshman and a good platform for his strong views on the need to slash federal spending. “The debt crisis cannot be overstated,” he said at a February 2011 town hall meeting. “We’re at a crossroads. … We need to make some tough decisions on real reform.” He also joined the budget task force of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the most conservative House members. Huelskamp voted against a short-term resolution to fund the government in March 2011 while Democrats and Republicans sought to negotiate a budget deal for the rest of the fiscal year. In addition to spending concerns, Huelskamp said he opposed the bill because it failed to specifically rule out money for Planned Parenthood. At least one prominent conservative activist, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, questioned whether it was appropriate for the GOP to add such policy questions to a spending fight.

Meanwhile, Huelskamp also raised eyebrows for hiring as his chief of staff a conservative Denver talk show host who lacked Capitol Hill experience but who had worked as an organizer against gay marriage and abortion.