About
Ron Estes (R-Kan.) has served Kansas’ 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since April 2017, when Trump pushed for his win in a special election to replace Mike Pompeo, who had left Congress to become Trump’s CIA director (and a year later, secretary of state). He ran for reelection in 2022—without Trump’s endorsement—and won with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Estes grew up on his family farm in Kansas and went on to earn degrees in civil engineering and business administration. Prior to running for public office, Estes worked for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Koch Industries, and Bombardier Learjet. Before his bid for Congress, he served as treasurer of Sedgwick County (Kansas) and as state treasurer of Kansas.
Estes’ first congressional campaign was heavily financed by Koch Industries, prompting The Nation to note that he wanted to be the “next congressman from Koch,” following in Pompeo’s footsteps. Industry groups such as the American Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Business Aviation Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association all supported his candidacy.
After the 2020 presidential election, Estes helped spread the Big Lie, objected to certifying the Electoral College results, and voted against both impeaching Trump for inciting the mob and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures.
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Estes joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- In a joint statement released on Jan. 3 with fellow Kansas Republican Reps. Mann and LaTurner, they wrote, “With several states facing serious allegations of voter fraud and violations of their own state laws, the Kansas Republican delegation in the House will object to the certification of electors in multiple states on Jan. 6.”
- Estes opposed impeaching Trump for his role in inciting the insurrection, arguing that “Bypassing standard House processes without a proper investigation turns an important Constitutional provision created by the Founders into a partisan stunt.”
- Estes voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, complaining that the process “doesn’t look bipartisan when in reality it’s weighted toward the speaker and the Democrats’ staff.”
The Big Lie
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Estes signed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the presidential election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He explained in a tweet that he signed the brief “to take up a critical case concerning the most recent and future elections. We need transparency & integrity in our electoral process & this case deserves to be heard.”