resigned his seat. On February 9, 2017, a special nominating convention from the 4th District selected state treasurer Ron Estes as the Republican candidate for the April 11, 2017, special election. Ron Estes went on to win the Special Election with 53% of the vote. Kansas Statewides: No Statewide offices were up for election in 2016. In July 2017, however, Governor Brownback was nominated to be U.S. Ambassador at large for Religious Freedom. He had to be re-nominated in early 2018 and was finally confirmed in January 2018. State Senate: Republicans lost one seat for a total of 31 of 40. The Republican Caucus, on December 5, elected Susan Wagle as Senate President and Jim Denning as Majority Leader. State House: Republicans lost a net of 12 House seats for a total of 85 of 125. This was still their fourth best performance since 1970. The Republican Caucus, on December 5, elected Ron Ryckman, Jr, as Speaker and Don Hineman as Majority Leader. State School Board: Republicans won four of the five races. State Party: At the February 2015 state committee meeting held in Wichita, the State Committee elected Kelly Arnold as chair; Ashley McMillan Hutchinson as vice-chair; Derek Kreifels as secretary, and T.C. Anderson as treasurer. Clay Barker remained as executive director. At the February 2016 state committee meeting in Overland Park, the State Committee elected Mark Kahrs and re-elected Helen van Etten as National Committeeman and Committeewoman. 2018 election cycle The 2018 election saw the Republicans lose the Governor and Third District Congressional races, the first time the Democrats had won a statewide or federal office since 2008. Republicans won the other four statewide offices, the other three congressional offices and retained the majority in the state House with a somewhat more conservative caucus. Primary Election: There were several open seat primaries in 2017. When Governor Brownback was confirmed as a U.S. Ambassador in January 2017, he resigned and Lt Gov Jeff Colyer became Governor on January 31, 2017. He appointed Tracey Mann as Lt Governor. The Governor primary consisted of Governor Jeff Colyer, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer, former state senator Jim Barnett and a few others. Kobach won the primary by a margin of 343 votes over Colyer. The Secretary of State primary had several candidates and Scott Schwab, the Speaker Pro Tem, prevailed. Vicki Schmidt, a state senator won the Insurance