CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 20% 79% 96% 4% 1997 23 77 95 3 1996 34 65 92 7 1995 20 80 97 3 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 98 1997 98 1996 98 1995 99	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 0% n/a 94% 100 % 1997 5 13 90 100 1996 5 0 94 100 1995 0 0 100 100
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

KANSAS 4 : South central - Wichita

In these parts, seeing an airplane is about as commonplace as seeing a bird. With its thriving aviation industry, the moderately conservative 4th is centered around its largest city, Wichita. Farmland stretches throughout the district and surrounds the city.

Wichita's aviation industry keeps the 4th healthy. Boeing, which produces two-thirds of the world's commercial airliners, has a plant here alongside other aviation heavyweights. Even so, with a regional medical center and a university, Wichita can hardly be called just an airplane town. However, in recent years some dark clouds have overshadowed the city; Pizza Hut moved its headquarters from Wichita to Dallas in 1997, and a 1998 announcement of cuts by Boeing stirred concerns.

Redistricting in 1992 made the politically marginal 4th more favorable to Republicans by taking out Democrat-leaning Reno County and bringing in Republican-oriented Montgomery County. This change helped Republicans win the district in 1994 and keep it in 1996 and '98. Locally, Republicans do best here, but Democrats do win some offices. Cowley County, in the east, tilts more Democratic.

Major Industry
Aviation, defense, agriculture

Military Bases
McConnell Air Force Base, 2,947 military, 873 civilian (1997)

Population
619,373 (1990)

Cities
Wichita, 320,395; Derby, 17,496; Newton, 16,604 (1996)

People
55% urban; 14% age 65+ (ranks third of four in state; middle third nationally); 59% married couples, 28% married couples with children; 20% college educated (ranks second of four nationally; middle third nationally); 56% white collar (ranks second of four in state; middle third nationally), 29% blue collar (ranks first of four in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Race
89% white, 7% black, 2% Asian; 3% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$28,308 (ranks second of four in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Almon Strowger of El Dorado invented the dial telephone in 1889; David Blanton of Wichita invented the airplane autopilot in 1954; Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville invented the first frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.

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