Call off the Tim Huelskamp watch.
The former Republican Kansas congressman wants to return home after quietly resigning from the Heartland Institute in June.
But he doesn’t want to run for office, whether that’s for the U.S. Senate or his old seat representing the 1st Congressional District.
There had been some insider speculation that Huelskamp might want to run for his old seat if current U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall runs for the U.S. Senate.
There are already a number of candidates lining up to run in the 1st District if Marshall runs for the Senate, including former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann; state Reps. Troy Waymaster, Steven Johnson and Ken Rahjes; and National Rifle Association lobbyist Travis Couture-Lovelady.
Political scientist Bob Beatty could envision a scenario where Huelskamp could run for his old congressional seat, needing only 30% to 35% of the vote to win a crowded Republican primary.
“He might have a heckuva chance. That’s what helped him get elected in the first place,” Beatty said of the 2010 Republican primary that Huelskamp won with 35% of the vote.
In a recent interview, Huelskamp said neither a congressional nor a Senate race is in the cards at this point in time.
“No, I am not running for anything as far as I know this cycle,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of people call me about both the Senate and the U.S. House race. We do not anticipate doing that this time around.”
Huelskamp said he doesn’t want to disrupt the lives of his two sons; he has one who is a rising senior in high school and another who is in the seventh grade.
Huelskamp served three terms in the U.S. House before losing the 2016 Republican primary to Marshall.
A former state senator, Huelskamp was elected to Congress in 2010. He emerged from a six-candidate field to win the GOP primary and then moved on to win the general election.
After he was defeated for re-election in 2016, Huelskamp joined the Heartland Institute as its president in 2017. The institute describes itself as a “free-market” think tank.
“It was a productive two years,” he said.
Huelskamp declined to talk about why he resigned from the institute in early June.
The organization put out a one-paragraph statement about his departure, saying only that it was restructuring its staff to “boost our productivity and impact in several key areas including research, development, and marketing.”
He is now living in the Chicago suburbs but couldn’t say precisely when he plans to move back to Kansas. “We’re still looking to figure that out moving forward.”
Huelskamp said his mother passed away about two months ago. His father died about three years earlier. The 5,000-acre family farm in Fowler is run by his brother.
“The family farm is still out west, and that’s where home is,” he said. “We’d like to get back to Kansas and certainly get back to the Big First.”
Huelskamp now lists that he’s chief executive officer of the American Policy Forum on his LinkedIn profile. The site indicates he’s been in that position since January.
The former congressman said it is an organization that is still being put together, but he declined to go into any details.
While Huelskamp will be sitting on the political sidelines next year, he does have a favorite in the U.S. Senate race — assuming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doesn’t run.
“I hope Alan Cobb actually runs,” Huelskamp said of the president and chief executive of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.
“I know there are a lot of other names floating around, but I’ve known Alan for years and he would be a reliable conservative voice,” Huelskamp said. “I think he’d do a great job.”
Huelskamp added that he thought Cobb would likely join the race and would have good connections with the White House that could help him in a Senate bid.
“He should be the favorite if and when he gets in the race,” he said. “I believe he will, and I hope he does.”
