Ron Estes

Ronald Gene Estes ( ; born July 19, 1956) is an American politician and civil engineer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 39th Kansas State Treasurer from 2011 until his resignation in 2017 and as treasurer of Sedgwick County from 2004 to 2010.

A fifth-generation Kansan, Estes studied engineering and business at Tennessee Tech. He began his career as a consultant and executive in various manufacturing and service industries. Estes was elected treasurer of Sedgwick County in 2004 and reelected in 2008. He was elected Kansas State Treasurer in 2010 and reelected in 2014. After U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo resigned to become Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Estes won the special election for the seat and was sworn in on April 25, 2017. He is the dean of Kansas's House delegation.

Early life and education Estes was born in Topeka, Kansas, and is a fifth-generation Kansan. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Tech, where he was selected for membership in Omicron Delta Kappa - The National Leadership Honor Society.

Career

Business Estes worked in consulting and management roles in the aerospace, oil and gas, automotive, and several other manufacturing and service industries, working for several companies, including Andersen Consulting, Procter & Gamble, Koch Industries, and Bombardier Learjet.

County treasurer Estes was elected treasurer of Sedgwick County, Kansas, home to Wichita, in 2004,

As state treasurer, Estes managed more than $24 billion in public money and he came in under budget by over $600,000. On February 9, Estes won the Republican nomination to run in the special election to determine Pompeo's successor.

The Democratic nominee in the special election was James Thompson, a Wichita lawyer and veteran. Estes was endorsed by many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan,

The National Republican Congressional Committee contributed $92,000, in part for "inflammatory and false" advertisements supporting Estes, which characterized Thompson as an advocate of taxpayer-funded, late-term abortions, and as an advocate for gender-selection abortion.

Estes won the special election on April 11, 2017, 52.2% to 46%.

2018 regular election

In the 2018 election, Estes was challenged in the primary by a candidate with a similar name, Ron M. Estes. This led to a conundrum as to how the candidates should be distinguished on the ballot, with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach deciding that Ron G. Estes could include the prefix "Rep." on the ballot according to Kansas law, although Ron M. Estes complained that this was unfair. In the general election, Estes defeated James Thompson in a rematch with 59.4% of the vote.

Tenure

Estes was sworn into office on April 25, 2017.

In December 2017, Estes voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In an op-ed for the Wichita Eagle, he said he was "confident it will make a real difference for families and businesses in Kansas", that it would provide economic and job growth, and that workers would see larger paychecks. Estes says the tax-filing process had been simplified, even though the process remains the same.

In July 2017, Estes received national attention for interrupting Representative Kathleen Rice mid-sentence while she asked a question at a Homeland Security subcommittee hearing. Rice tweeted "Day in the life. Worth noting there are men from both parties who don't act like this" and included a video of the exchange. Estes explained that he was simply trying to follow committee rules after Rice's time was up.

April 2025 Trip to El Salvador In April 2025, Estes traveled to El Salvador and received a tour of Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a maximum security prison used by the Trump administration to hold U.S. immigrants forcibly removed from the United States, including immigrants like Kilmar Abrego Garcia who were illegally abducted and transported to the prison. After visiting the CECOT prison camp, Estes did not call for the repatriation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Committee assignments Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support

Caucus memberships Congressional Western Caucus Republican Study Committee

Political positions

Abortion Estes calls himself "proudly pro-life" and supports defunding Planned Parenthood. In the only election debate he attended, where he joined Democrat James Thompson and the campaign manager for Libertarian candidate Chris Rockhold, he repeated the claim that Planned Parenthood had been profiting by selling parts of aborted fetuses.

Economic issues

Estes supports a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution and reducing corporate and some personal income tax rates. incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

Israel Estes voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Personal life Ron and his wife, Susan, have three children.

Electoral history

Republican Convention CandidateFirst BallotPct.Second BallotPct. 58 46% 66 52% 28 22% 43 34% 20 16% 17 14% 10 8% 10 8%