Early in-person voting in Johnson County began Saturday, Oct. 17, and voters can cast advance ballots through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
There’s a lot on the Nov. 3 ballot, from a high-profile Senate contest to deciding who will be Prairie Village’s next mayor. Not to mention 18 judicial retention votes and a vote on a constitutional amendment regarding whether only citizens should be allowed to vote in Kansas elections.
During this critical midterm election season, the Johnson County Post gave our readers in-depth informative coverage of the issues affecting Johnson County.
We hosted 11 candidate forums over seven nights, focused on the most local of races — Kansas House, county commission, and Prairie Village mayor. (A hoped-for forum for U.S. House candidates, unfortunately, did not materialize.)
For bigger statewide races, we extended invitations to all candidates running for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state, attorney general and a Kansas State Board of Education seat. As of this week, we’ve received eight responses and recorded interviews with those candidates, and also interviewed a candidate for insurance commissioner.
We garnered responses to reader-generated questionnaires from about 65 candidates who are seeking federal, state and local offices impacting Johnson County.
All of that, so we could give you access to those who would govern your communities, control your tax dollars and make important decisions on your behalf.
As Johnson County voters head to the polls and mail in ballots or drop them off at secure drop box locations, we’ve put together election primers for each of the races in the Post’s coverage area.
These guides will give you an easy way to find out more about the candidates and where they stand on the issues important to our readers, so you can decide for yourself who will best represent you in Washington, Topeka and right here at home.
SHAMELESS PLUG
No other news outlet devotes as much attention to giving Johnson County voters a way to find out where candidates running for local office stand on the issues important to our community. If you value having a news outlet provide this kind of coverage, consider becoming a subscriber if you aren’t already. Try us out for just $1/week.
The candidates
Click on each House District to meet the candidates.
- District 5
- District 8
- District 14
- District 15
- District 16
- District 17
- District 18
- District 19
- District 20
- District 21
- District 22
- District 23
- District 24
- District 25
- District 26
- District 27
- District 28
- District 29
- District 30
- District 39
- District 43
- District 48
- District 49
- District 78
- District 108
- District 117
- District 121
The key issues
The Post crafted a five-item questionnaire for this race based on our readers’ input about what they wanted to hear from candidates.
Click on the links below to read the candidates’ responses to each of the following issues:
- Property taxes
- Public schools and special ed funding
- Housing affordability
- Data centers
- Chiefs stadium deal
Watch our candidate forums
The Post invited all candidates in this fall’s contested races to participate in forums and share their perspectives on the issues most important to our readers.
Here is a complete list of all candidate forums we hosted and moderated this fall.
Kansas House Districts 19, 24 and 28
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 19, 24 and 28, covering much of northeastern Johnson County, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 17 and 30
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 17 and 30, covering parts of Lenexa, Olathe and Shawnee, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 18 and 39
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 18 and 39, covering parts of Shawnee, Merriam, Lake Quivira and Bonner Springs, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 14, 117 and 121
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 14, 117 and 121, covering parts of De Soto, Lenexa, Olathe and Shawnee, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 5 and 43
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 5 and 43, covering parts of Edgerton, Gardner, Olathe and Spring Hill, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 15 and 26
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 15 and 26, covering parts of Overland Park, Olathe and Spring Hill, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 8 and 27
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 8 and 27, covering areas of southern Leawood, Olathe and southern Overland Park, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Kansas House Districts 49 and 78
A recording of our candidate forum for Kansas House Districts 49 and 78, covering parts of Olathe and southern Overland Park, is embedded below. Read highlights from that forum here.
Thanks for reading! If you value having an independent news outlet keeping tabs on local government, schools and taxes, we're asking you to contribute to our Education Reporting Fund.
