[6][7] As of mid-April 2017 (following a special election to fill the district seat left vacant by Mike Pompeo's resignation to become CIA Director), no other Democrat has won election to the Congressional seat lost by Glickman,[8] which has since gone to conservative, anti-abortion Republicans,[5][9][10][11] routinely, by a roughly two-to-one margin in subsequent races—with the exception of the April 11, 2017 special election, in which Democrat James Thompson managed to narrow the gap with Republican victor Ron Estes to only 6.2%.

[12][13] Since the 1980s (and peaking with the 1991 Summer of Mercy protests), the district's major city, Wichita (where most 4th district voters reside), is often referred to in national media as the center, or "ground zero", of the nation's anti-abortion movement[14][15][16][17][18][19]—a primary factor that Glickman has credited for his defeat,[20][21][22][23][9]—and which has remained a major influence in 4th district politics, with all three of Glickman's successors (Todd Tiahrt, Mike Pompeo and Ron Estes) claiming strong anti-abortion views.

[24][25][26] In the 2016 general election, incumbent Republican Mike Pompeo was overwhelmingly re-elected to the seat, with a 31% (85,000-vote) lead over his Democratic rival.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, acting on his authority, announced a special election would be held on April 11, 2017, to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Pompeo's resignation.

However, Democratic nominee Thompson, aided with numerous energetic supporters (particularly former local campaigners for Bernie Sanders, who had taken the 2016 Kansas Democratic Presidential Caucus by 75%), began to show signs of the first serious fourth district challenge to Republicans since Glickman's loss a quarter-century earlier.

[5] By comparison, Estes raised about $318,000—plus another $94,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) after the filing deadline—largely from outside groups and big (over $1,000) donors.

Another key focus was his status as a U.S. Army veteran and advocacy for Second Amendment rights, featuring images of him firing his assault rifle.

The campaign strongly emphasized his desire to defend the Constitution, inferring a reference to President Trump.

The Thompson campaign attempted to focus public attention on Estes' close connections to exceptionally unpopular Governor Sam Brownback.

Estes' low-key campaign included refusing to attend several debates with Thompson and Libertarian candidate Rockhold.

[32] In the Democratic primary for Congress, Laura Lombard lost to James Thompson, who was defeated by Ron G. Estes in the 2017 special election.

[31] In the general election, Ron Estes was re-elected, defeating James Thompson by a large margin.

The largest employment by industry was: manufacturing, 24.1%; educational, health and social services, 20.8%; and retail trade, 11.0%.

[24] Sharply criticizing the Legislature for the intractable feud between conservative and moderate factions in the Kansas Legislature (normally responsible for redistricting), and recognizing the rapidly approaching next elections, a federal three-judge panel (the Chief Justice of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and two judges from the Kansas City U.S. District Court) drew the Kansas state and Congressional district boundaries themselves, in rather simple and direct shapes that produced radical changes.