PITTSBURG, Kan. — Both locally and across the state, voters went to the polls Tuesday to make their voices heard in a variety of party primary races, as well as on the Value Them Both Amendment question regarding abortion. While some races remained too close to call, the outcomes of others seemed to be getting clearer shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night.
Although many expected the vote on the Value Them Both Amendment to be a close race, as results came in Tuesday evening, the proposed amendment’s prospects seemed to be dimming, with 62 percent “no” votes versus 38 percent “yes” votes and more than 60 percent of all precincts statewide reporting as of 10 p.m. In Crawford County, the vote was 5,582 “no” votes compared to 4,520 “yes” votes, according to unofficial results posted by the county clerk’s office at 9:38 p.m.
At the local level, one contest to watch on the Republican side was the Crawford County Commission 1st District race, where Lee Pool of McCune was challenging incumbent Commissioner Bruce Blair of Girard. Blair appears to have won the nomination, with 1,447 votes compared to 459 for Pool, according to the county’s unofficial results.
On the Democratic side, there was little to be decided locally, as candidates were generally running unopposed, although there were some competitive state and federal races. With more than 60 percent of precincts statewide reporting as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Mark Holland appeared to be the winner of the party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Jerry Moran, beating five competitors. Incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly and Lt. Gov. David Toland easily fended off a challenge for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination from Richard Karnowski and Barry Franco of Seneca.
Patrick Schmidt of Topeka won the Democratic nomination for the state’s 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jeanna Repass of Overland Park won the nomination for secretary of state, Chris Mann of Lawrence won the nomination for attorney general, incumbent State Treasurer Lynn Rogers won the Democratic nomination for state treasurer, and Kiel Corkran of Olathe won the party’s nomination for insurance commissioner. Incumbent Crawford County Commissioner Jeremy Johnson won the Democratic nomination for the Crawford County Commission 3rd District seat, although he will face a general election challenge from Republican Carl Wood. Incumbent County Clerk Lisa Lusker won the Democratic nomination for county clerk. Schmidt, Repass, Mann, Rogers, Corkran, Johnson and Lusker were all running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
As expected, Rep. Chuck Smith won the GOP nomination for the State House District 3 seat, Rep. Jake LaTurner won the party’s nomination for the state’s 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and former county commissioner Carl Wood won the Republican nomination for the Crawford County Commission 3rd District seat. Smith, LaTurner and Wood were all running unopposed in the GOP primary.
In what was probably the most closely watched state-level race on the Republican side, the party’s nomination for attorney general (a position being vacated by Republican Derek Schmidt, who is running for governor) remained too close to call Tuesday, with Kris Kobach and Kellie Warren neck-and-neck, separated by less than 5,000 votes, and Tony Mattivi trailing further behind as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, with more than 60 percent of precincts statewide reporting. The race for the GOP nomination for state treasurer between Steven Johnson and Caryn Tyson also remained too close to call as of 10 p.m. Tuesday. Jim Porter had a significant lead over Luke Aichele in the race for the Republican nomination for the State Board of Education 9th District seat as of 10 p.m., but with less than 25 percent of precincts statewide reporting.
Some other less-than-surprising results at the state and federal levels included incumbent Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Manhattan defeating challenger Joan Farr of Derby, and current Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and his running mate Katie Sawyer beating challengers Arlyn Briggs and Lance Berland to win the GOP nomination in the governor’s race. Incumbent Secretary of State Scott Schwab appeared to have defeated a challenge from fellow Overland Park Republican Mike Brown, and current Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, who was running unopposed in the GOP primary, was re-nominated as the Republican candidate for insurance commissioner.
Although unofficial results were posted Tuesday evening, local results will not become official until they are certified by the Crawford County Board of Canvassers, which will meet next Monday at 9 a.m. at the Crawford County Courthouse, 111 E. Forest Ave. in Girard, to canvass the votes. Statewide results will be certified by the State Board of Canvassers no later than Sept. 1.
