For the first time in our nearly 15 years as a publication, the Johnson County Post this fall hosted forums for all Kansas Statehouse districts in Johnson County.
From Mission and Merriam in the north, to Olathe and Overland Park in the south, from De Soto in the west over to the State Line corridor in the east, the Post over the past month hosted 14 separate forums featuring candidates vying for Kansas House and Senate seats representing our county.
We extended invitations to all 57 candidates who will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot in a statehouse contest, and 46 of those candidates ultimately participated.
The 11 who did not were all Republicans. If the Post received an explanation from a candidate for why they were not able to attend, we tried to make a note of that in our summaries of the events.
Candidates have also all been given an opportunity to respond to our five-item questionnaire based on our readers’ input. We will begin publishing those responses next week in the lead-up to the start of early voting on Saturday, Oct. 19.
If you missed our statehouse forums, peruse this list and catch up on what you missed so you can be informed about which candidates seeking office in your area of Johnson County best represent your views and priorities.
Northeastern Johnson County
- Senate District 7 (Fairway, Mission, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Westwood, Westwood Hills, as well as parts of Overland Park and Leawood)
- House Districts 19 & 20 (Leawood, Overland Park and Prairie Village)
- House Districts 24 & 25 (Fairway, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Roeland Park, Westwood, Westwood Hills and parts of Merriam, Mission and Prairie Village)
Northwestern Johnson County
- Senate Districts 9 & 10 (De Soto, Lake Quivira, Lenexa, Olathe and Shawnee)
- House Districts 17 & 18 (portions of Lenexa, Shawnee and Merriam)
- House Districts 39 & 117 (De Soto, Lenexa, Olathe and Shawnee)
- House Districts 14 & 30 (Lenexa, Olathe and eastern Shawnee)
Southeastern Johnson County
- Senate Districts 6, 8 and 11 (Overland Park and Leawood, *NOTE: District 6 covers a small portion of northern Johnson County in Merriam, Mission and Overland Park but was fit into this forum due to scheduling conflicts.)
- Senate District 35 (Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park)
- House Districts 8 & 48 (Olathe and southern Overland Park)
- House Districts 27 & 28 (southern Leawood and Overland Park)
Southwestern Johnson County
- Kansas Senate 23 & 37 (Edgerton, Gardner, Olathe and Spring Hill)
- House Districts 5 & 49 (District 5 is in the far southwestern corner of Johnson County, while District 49 covers a portion of southern Olathe)
- House Districts 15, 78 and 121 (De Soto, Gardner and southern Olathe)
