Two of the three incumbents running for Sedgwick County Commission won re-election Tuesday night.
Republican Pete Meitzner won a second term, defeating Democrat Kelli Grant in District 1. And Republican Jim Howell won a third term, topping Democrat John McIntosh in District 5.
The only incumbent to lose was in District 4, where Democrat Lacey Cruse was defeated by Republican Ryan Baty.
Voter turnout in Sedgwick County was 45%, lower than what county officials had projected. Out of 333,000 registered voters, about 149,000 cast a ballot. In 2018, the last gubernatorial election, the turnout was 56%.
In the governor’s race, Republican Derek Schmidt continues to cut into Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s lead. With about 75 percent of the vote counted, Kelly is still leading 51 to 46 percent. Kelly led by double digits early in the evening, but Schmidt has continued to draw closer.
Kelly is trying to win a second term. Schmidt, who served three terms as attorney general, is making his first run at governor.
In other statewide races, Democrat Chris Mann also has seen his lead over Republican Kris Kobach shrink in the race for attorney general. Mann leads 51 to 49 percent. The two are competing to replace Schmidt as the state’s top law enforcement official.
In the treasurer’s race, Republican Steven Johnson – who trailed early in the night – has surged past incumbent Lynn Rogers, a Democrat from Wichita. Johnson leads 53 to 43 percent.
Rogers, a former Wichita school board member, was appointed treasurer by Kelly in 2020 after serving as her lieutenant governor.
Earlier Tuesday night, the Associated Press called the Kansas Senate race for Republican Senator Jerry Moran. He easily won a third term, defeating Democrat Mark Holland, the former mayor of Kansas City, Kansas.
Wichita Congressman Ron Estes, an incumbent Republican, was headed to a comfortable victory over Bob Hernandez.
On the two statewide ballot measures, the amendment dealing with the election of sheriffs was headed for approval while the amendment that would give the legislature more oversight of the governor was losing by a small margin.
In Wichita, the question of whether to elect school board members by district was approved by voters by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.