Thompson facing Kansas State Treasurer Ron Estes, the Republican nominee. Estes won, 52.5 to 47.7%, in a race where the Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez refused to provide financial support to Thompson. The National Republican Congressional Committee substantially outspent the Democrat, James Thompson. The NRCC contributed $92,000, in part for last minute "venomous" ads supporting Estes, which without any basis, characterized Thompson as an advocate of taxpayer funded, late term abortions, and those based on gender selection. Prior to the election, it was reported that Estes had raised $459,000 to Thompson's $292,000. Late in the race, the Kansas Democratic party finally contributed $3,000 to the Thompson campaign, but new Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said his organization would not be transferring any funds to the election. Thompson lost to State Treasurer Ron Estes, McKinney's successor, but by 6.2% in a district where the incumbent, Mike Pompeo, and presidential candidate Donald Trump, won by 31% the previous November. Tornado and recovery On the evening of May 4, 2007, the first of a series of powerful storms and one of the strongest tornadoes of the century, an EF5 tornado with a 1.7-mile-swath, and winds exceeding , flattened 95% of McKinney's hometown of Greensburg, Kansas.Norris, Michelle, NPR interviewer, "State Representative Rides Out Tornado in Tub," transcript, May 7, 2007·4:00 PM ET, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, retrieved February 10, 2017. The tornado left the area without power, plunging it into darkness. The destruction included the city hospital, schools and McKinney's own house in town. Together with his daughter, Lindy, in their basement, they barely survived the complete collapse of their residence. As the funnel passed, McKinney emerged from the wreckage to search for, and assist, stricken neighbors. Joined by the Superintendent of Schools, Darren Hedrick, they soon found and extricated a mother and her nine-month-old son from where they had been buried, deep in the rubble of her home. Not all were so fortunate: Out of the roughly 1,500 residents, ten others were killed in Greensburg during the cataclysm, with more dying or found dead later,Kansas Tornado Death Toll Rises,CBS, Scott Conroy, May 8, 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2017. plus two more in neighboring smaller towns."Raw emotions underlie new, green Greensburg," May 3, 2010, The Wichita Eagle, retrieved February 11, 2017 The destruction caused more than half the now-homeless and traumatized population to depart; a third of the population—500 people—moved