The first congressional election since Trump's inauguration is happening Tuesday in Kansas

Mike Pompeo.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The 4th District in south-central Kansas is solidly red, but Democrats, energized by the fact they turned 12 seats in the state legislature blue in 2016, are hopeful that their candidate in Tuesday's special election will come out on top.

The election will replace Mike Pompeo, who became director of the CIA after President Trump's inauguration; in the last three congressional elections, Pompeo's Democratic challengers received just 30 percent of the vote, KMUW reports. Facing off are Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights attorney and Army vet who backs unions, has grassroots support, and was inspired to run by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Republican Ron Estes, the state treasurer and former Sedgwick County treasurer who was an early and outspoken Trump supporter and promises to cut regulations.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.