Republicans made inroads in Johnson County in Kansas Statehouse races Tuesday night, again frustrating Democrats’ hopes of unlocking the GOP’s supermajorities in Topeka.
According to unofficial final results reported by the Kansas Secretary of State’s office and Johnson County Election Office Tuesday night, Republicans appeared ready to pick up at least two Kansas House districts in Johnson County.
At the same time, Republicans appear to have retained all the seats in both the Kansas House and Senate they carried into the night.
Two House districts flip
In House District 14 in northern Olathe, former Republican state representative Charlotte Esau regained the seat she narrowly lost two years ago to Democrat Dennis Miller. As of Tuesday night, Esau was leading 52% to 48%.
In House District 15 in Olathe, Republican Lauren Bohi appeared poised to unseat Democratic Rep. Allison Hougland, leading by a margin of 51% to 49%.
A third Olathe-area district currently held by a Democrat, House District 49, remained razor-thin as of Tuesday. Sitting Rep. Nikki McDonald led Republican challenger Kurtis Ruf by 95 votes, according to Tuesday’s unofficial count.
All of these tallies could change slightly over the next week as county election officials tabulate mail-in and provisional ballots.
See full unofficial Johnson County results, including all Kansas Statehouse contests.
Republican incumbents hold their ground
Democrats had focused their hopes on picking up at least two seats in the Kansas House and three in the Kansas Senate to break the GOP’s veto-proof supermajorities in either chamber.
But in nearly all closely watched races in Johnson County Tuesday night, Republicans came out ahead.
In the Senate, that included Mike Thompson over realtor Andrew Mall in Senate District 10, Kellie Warren atop attorney Karen Thurlow in Senate District 11 and outgoing state rep Adam Thomas over Stacey Knoell in Senate District 23.
“Back in the spring, nobody thought I could win,” Thompson said Tuesday night. “They said this blue wave was coming across northeast Johnson County and is gonna knock me out — but I said, ‘Not on our watch.’”
Warren also claimed victory Tuesday. In a race that her opponent Thurlow and other Democrats tried to make about abortion — Warren was one of the authors of the failed Value Them Both amendment in 2022 — Warren said other issues won out.
“This election proves that Johnson County really cares about lowering taxes, food (prices), schools, safe neighborhoods, and that’s what I promise to keep working on for the people of Senate District 11. So whether you voted for me or not, I appreciate being your voice in Topeka.”
Prized House seats stay with GOP
In the House, GOP Rep. Carl Turner of House District 28 in southern Leawood and Overland Park again appears to have fended off a challenge from retired oncologist Ace Allen, who challenged Turner unsuccessfully two years ago.
Likewise, House Majority Leader Chris Croft of House District 8 in Overland Park and Olathe, again defeated retired teacher Pam Shernuk, his opponent in 2022.
“Today, we showed the unity, we have one team to get out there and fight together,” Croft told a Republican Party gathering in Overland Park on Tuesday. “You guys have showed us that you want the legislature to be out there leading in a very transparent way and engage everybody.”
And in Shawnee, sitting Rep. Angela Stiens, who won a party election earlier this year to finish out the term of Rep. Owen Donohoe, won outright, defeating Vanessa Vaughn West, who opposed Donohoe unsuccessfully two years ago.
Gov. Kelly put effort, money into making gains
In remarks to the crowd at a watch party hosted by Johnson County Democrats Tuesday, Gov. Laura Kelly said before results started coming in that “it is true that the path to breaking that supermajority” goes through Johnson County.
“Never again will Johnson County be red,” she said, “it’s just a matter of how dark blue.”
After Tuesday night, the Kansas House delegation is nearly evenly split, with 14 Democrats and 13 Republicans. In the Senate, Johnson County’s balance remains the same: six Republicans and four Democrats.
Democrats have long focused on trying to break the GOP’s supermajority in the Kansas Statehouse.
In the House, Republicans have had a supermajority — at least 84 seats in the 125-seat chamber — since 2010.
In the Senate, the stranglehold dates back further: GOP senators have controlled at least 27 of the 40 seats in that chamber since the late 1990s.
That control has allowed Republicans to dictate policy debates and legislation even with a Democrat, Laura Kelly, in the governor’s mansion in recent years.
During Kelly’s tenure, Republican supermajorities have repeatedly thwarted Democratic-led efforts to expand Medicaid and blocked other measures, including medical marijuana.
Republican legislative leaders have couched the supermajorities as necessary to counteract a governor they see as too quick with the veto pen, noting particularly Kelly’s blocking of multiple GOP-backed tax cut bills earlier this year that forced a special session.
But Kelly has said that if Republicans maintain or even expand their supermajorities in the Statehouse, then they would attempt to pass new restrictions on abortion and once again take up limits on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a measure that Kelly vetoed last year.
The governor felt strongly enough about the issue that her own political action committee poured $2 million this year into races seen as crucial to breaking the supermajority.
Below is a breakdown of all the statehouse races in Johnson County.
Kansas Senate
District 6
Incumbent Democrat Pat Pettey leads big against Republican Tabitha Burt in Kansas Senate District 6.
Pettey won 63% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 7
Incumbent Democrat Ethan Corson has the edge against Republican Dave Dannov in Kansas Senate District 7.
Corson is winning with 64% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 8
Incumbent Democrat Cindy Holscher leads bigs against Republican challenger Beneé Hudson in Kansas Senate District 8.
Holscher won 61% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 9
Incumbent Republican Beverly Gossage leads big in the Kansas District 9 race against Democratic challenger Norman Mallicoat.
Gossage took home 61% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results. She thanked the volunteers who helped in front of a crowd of Johnson County GOP watch party attendees on Tuesday night.
“I want to thank everyone who came out and walked with us, who made phone calls for us, who printed literature for us, we walked thousands of doors all over the area,” Gossage said.
For his part, Mallicoat said he put key Democratic Party platform issues at the heart of his campaign like reproductive freedom and Medicaid expansion.
“I wouldn’t have ran it any differently, actually,” he said, adding that he knows that’s maybe not where the Kansas Senate District 9 is at politically.
“It was always considered to be a safe district for a Republican,” he said.
District 10
Incumbent Republican Mike Thompson has the edge in Kansas District 10 over Democratic challenger Andrew Mall.
Thompson is winning 52% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
Thompson told a large, excited crowd at the Johnson County GOP watch party on Tuesday night that he and his campaign manager ran a positive campaign that focused on politics and positive solutions.
“Back in the spring, nobody thought I could win,” Thompson said. “They said, no this blue wave coming across northeast Johnson County is gonna knock me out — but Mike and I said, ‘Not on our watch.’”
Thompson said Republicans picked up seats in the state legislature, and added that the “battle” for the country and for Kansas continues.
District 11
Incumbent Republican Kellie Warren appears set to claim victory in Kansas Senate District 11 against Democratic challenger Karen Thurlow.
Warren won 52% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
“This election proves that Johnson County really cares about lowering taxes, food (prices), schools, safe neighborhoods, and that’s what I promise to keep working on for the people of Senate District 11,” Warren said. “So whether you voted for me or not, I appreciate being your voice in Topeka.”
District 21
Incumbent Democrat Dinah Sykes ran uncontested in Kansas Senate District 21 and appears set to claim victory, according to unofficial final election results.
District 23
Republican Adam Thomas leads big in Kansas Senate District 23 against Democrat Stacey Knoell.
Thomas won 52% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
Thomas, a former Republican state representative who is leading in Kansas Senate District 23, told an excited crowd of Johnson County Republicans on Tuesday night that his campaign has been about faith, family and freedom.
“It takes a whole team — it wasn’t just me, this is not about me tonight,” Thomas said. “This was such a huge team effort. We had an amazing group of people.
“Freedom is nothing that we take for granted,” Thomas added. “We will continue to be a free country as long as we continue to elect the right folks to office. And I am very humbled and I am very honored to be a representative of the people when it comes to protecting our freedom.”
District 35
Republican TJ Rose has the edge against Democrat Jason Anderson in Kansas Senate District 35.
Rose won 53% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 37
Republican Douglas Shane appears set to claim victory against Democrat Sherry Giebler in Kansas Senate District 37.
Shane won 58% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
Kansas House
District 5
Incumbent Republican Carrie Barth leads big in Kansas House District 5 against Democratic challenger Henry Johns.
Barth is leading with 67% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 8
Incumbent Republican Chris Croft has a clear edge against Democratic challenger Pam Shernuk in Kansas House District 8.
Croft won 55% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results. He told a crowd at the Johnson County GOP watch party on Tuesday evening that the results reflect unity, something he said former President Ronald Reagan talked about.
“Today, we showed the unity, we have one team to get out there and fight together,” Croft said. “You guys have showed us that you want the legislature to be out there leading in a very transparent way and engage everybody.”
For her part, Shernuk said she was grateful for her “incredible” team of volunteers during her campaign.
“While the outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, I respect the choice made by the voters of District 8,” Shernuk said in a text to the Post on Wednesday morning. “My commitment to service remains strong, and I will continue to find ways to support our community. Thank you to everyone who was part of this journey. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside each and every one of you.”
District 14
Republican challenger Charlotte Esau appears set to claim victory in Kansas House District 14 against incumbent Democrat Dennis Miller.
Esau won 52% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
“I tried to be honest in what I believe in, and put my issues out front of what I stood for, and that’s the way I wanted to run it,” Miller said.
This was a rematch for the two, who went toe-to-toe two years ago. At that time, Miller bested Esau in 2022.
District 15
Republican challenger Lauren Bohi appears to have won in Kansas House District 15 against incumbent Democrat Allison Hougland.
Bohi won 51% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 16
Incumbent Democrat Linda Featherston ran uncontested in House District 16 and is set to claim victory, according to unofficial final election results.
District 17
Incumbent Democrat Jo Ella Hoye is winning big against Libertarian challenger Michael Kerner in Kansas House District 17.
Hoye has 67% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 18
Democratic incumbent Cindy Neighbor leads big in Kansas House District 18 against challenges from Republican Robert Whitman and Libertarian Steve Hohe.
Neighbor won 56% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 19
Incumbent Democrat Stephanie Clayton is set to claim victory against Republican challenger Mark Hermes in Kansas House District 19.
Clayton is leading with 62% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 20
Incumbent Democrat Mari-Lynn Poskin leads big in Kansas House District 20 against Republican challenger Jerry Charlton.
Poskin is winning with 57% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 21
Democratic incumbent Jerry Stogsdill ran uncontested in House District 21 and is set to win, according to unofficial final election results.
District 22
Incumbent Democrat Lindsay Vaughn ran uncontested in House District 22 and is poised to claim victory, according to unofficial final election results.
District 23
Democratic incumbent Susan Ruiz ran uncontested in House District 23 and is slated to win her bid for re-election, according to unofficial final election results.
District 24
Incumbent Democrat Jarrod Ousley has a clear lead over Republican challenger Dale Redick in the Kansas House District 24 race.
Ousley is currently ahead with 65% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 25
Incumbent Democrat Rui Xu leads big in the Kansas House District 25 race against Republican challenger Greg Schoofs.
Xu currently leads with 64% of the votes, according to unofficial final election results.
District 26
Republican Chip VanHouden ran uncontested in the Kansas House District 26 race and is slated to win, according to unofficial final results.
District 27
Incumbent Republican Sean Tarwater has the edge against Democratic challenger David Benson in the Kansas House District 27 race.
Tarwater currently leads with 59% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 28
Incumbent Republican Carl Turner has the edge in the Kansas House District 28 race over Democratic challenger Ace Allen.
Turner currently leads with 51% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 29
Incumbent Democrat Heather Meyer ran uncontested in the Kansas House District 29 race and is slated to win, according to unofficial final results.
District 30
Incumbent Republican Laura Williams leads big in the Kansas House District 30 race against Democrat Betsey Lasister.
Williams currently leads with 53% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 39
Republican incumbent Angela Stiens leads in the Kansas House District 39 race against Democratic challenger Vanessa Vaughn West.
Stiens currently has 52% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
Kansas House District 39 Rep. Angela Stiens thanked the crowd at the Johnson County GOP watch party on Tuesday night.
“We showed Kansas what’s important, right?,” Stiens said. “The economy, inflation, property taxes all the things that we’re gonna work on. We’re gonna have a great legislature to get these things passed, but we couldn’t have done it without all of you.”
District 43
Incumbent Republican Bill Sutton ran uncontested in the Kansas House District 43 race and is slated to win, according to unofficial final results.
District 48
Incumbent Democrat Dan Osman leads big in the Kansas House District 48 race against Republican challenger Randy Ross.
Osman currently leads with 53% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 49
Incumbent Democrat Nikki McDonald barely has an edge over Republican challenger Kurtis Ruf.
McDonald has 50% of the votes at 6,087, while Ruf has 5,992 votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 78
Incumbent Republican Robyn Essex leads big in the Kansas House District 78 race against Democratic challenger Daniel Goodman.
Essex currently leads with 55% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 108
Incumbent Democrat Brandon Woodard ran uncontested in the Kansas House District 108 race and is slated to win, according to unofficial final results.
District 117
Republican incumbent Adam Turk has a clear edge in the Kansas House District 117 race against Democratic challenger Bill Hammond.
Turk currently leads with 58% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
District 121
Incumbent Republican John Resman leads big in the Kansas House District 121 race against Democratic challenger Mel Pinick.
Resman currently leads with 56% of the votes, according to unofficial final results.
Post reporters Juliana Garcia, Andrew Gaug and Kaylie McLaughlin contributed to this report.
