Republican voters accounted for most ballots cast in the Aug. 4 McPherson County primary, while voters across the county rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have changed how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected.
The unofficial election-night results released by the Office of McPherson County Clerk Hollie Melory show 7,504 ballots cast countywide, including 5,201 Republican ballots, 1,569 Democratic ballots and 734 nonpartisan ballots.
The results were generated after polls closed on election night and remain unofficial.
The county has scheduled its canvass for Aug. 17 when the results will become final and official.
For residents of Moundridge and the surrounding areas, the Republican primary produced largely uncontested local township races, while several statewide and countywide contests provided the more competitive portions of the ballot.
The results also offered an unusual opportunity for voters who did not participate in either partisan primary.
The constitutional amendment appeared on the ballot for all voters, and 7,264 people cast a vote on that question.
The amendment was defeated in McPherson County with 3,977 votes opposed and 3,287 in favor, meaning approximately 54.7% voted against it and 45.3% supported it.
The proposed amendment would have changed the state’s method of selecting Kansas Supreme Court justices from the current appointment-and-retention system to direct election.
Moundridge-area races decided
The local Republican ballot in the Mound/Moundridge Township area was largely a matter of confirming candidates who ran without opposition.
Daniel Bowen received 286 votes for Mound Township clerk.
In the Republican precinct committee races, Rodney Huxman received 288 votes for precinct committeeman, with three write-in votes, while Kay Huxman received 291 votes for precinct committeewoman, with three write-ins.
The Democratic Mound/Moundridge precinct committee races drew substantially fewer votes.
Write-in candidates received four votes for precinct committeeman, while the Democratic precinct committeewoman race recorded 13 votes.
Overall, Republican voters were more numerous in the county, while several Democratic local races drew only a handful of ballots.
Nearby townships see mostly uncontested races
The same pattern was on display throughout the area.
In Lone Tree Township, Republican Rolan D. Unruh received 37 votes for township clerk.
John H. Reimer received 31 votes for Republican precinct committeeman, while the precinct committeewoman position received one write-in vote.
Meridian Township also had a single Republican candidate for township clerk, with Gary D. Huxman receiving 42 votes.
The Republican precinct committeeman position received three write-in votes, while the committeewoman position received one.
In Turkey Creek Township, Dustin Krehbiel received 57 votes for Republican township clerk.
The Republican precinct committeeman race went to Joseph Allen with 53 votes, plus one write-in, while the committeewoman race recorded two write-in votes.
The Democratic local races in those townships were much smaller.
The Democratic township clerk contests recorded zero votes in Lone Tree and Meridian, while Turkey Creek recorded one write-in vote.
Republicans face choices
While the local township races were mostly settled without competition, Republican voters faced a much fuller ballot in statewide contests.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall won McPherson County’s Republican Senate primary with 4,066 votes, compared with 948 for Pond Naramore.
Marshall captured about 81% of the county vote.
In the Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District, incumbent Tracey Mann defeated Craig Musser, 4,092 to 869.
The Republican governor’s race was considerably more competitive.
Ty Masterson and Jeffrey Klemp led the field in McPherson County with 2,183 votes. They were followed by Philip Sarnecki and Joy Eakins with 1,085, Scott Schwab and Ken Rahjes with 626, Vicki Schmidt and Joe Newland with 591, Nick Reinecker and Katy Reinecker with 298, Stacy L. Rogers and Michael W. Smith with 138, and Charlotte O’Hara and Michelle Dombrosky with 95.
Masterson and Klemp therefore won the county’s Republican governor vote with about 43.5% of the ballots cast in that race.
Other Republican statewide candidates faced little or no opposition. Pat Proctor received 4,192 votes for secretary of state, Kris Kobach received 4,269 for attorney general, Steven Johnson received 4,380 for state treasurer and Daniel Hawkins received 4,140 for commissioner of insurance.
Competitive races appear farther down the ballot
The Republican race for State Board of Education District 9 also drew significant interest.
Kristian Gerken led with 2,079 votes, followed by Renee Slinkard with 1,051 and Destry Brown with 959.
The county’s Republican 1st District commission race went to Jim O’Neil, who received 1,825 votes.
Keith Becker received 1,246 and Stephen Gray received 579.
The Republican 2nd District commission race was uncontested, with Tom Kueser receiving 1,227 votes.
For the Republican primary in Kansas House District 74, Mike King led Craig Andres, 495-141, in the McPherson County results reported for the district.
Democratic voters make up minority of electorate
Although the Democratic primary attracted fewer voters, several contests were competitive.
The Democratic U.S. Senate race featured a crowded field. In McPherson County, Adam Hamilton led with 472 votes, followed by Noah Taylor with 331 and Christy Davis with 300.
The other candidates received smaller totals. Overall, 1,456 Democratic voters participated in the Senate contest.
In the Democratic 1st Congressional District race, Lauren Reinhold defeated Colin McRoberts, 898-448.
The Democratic governor’s race was one of the closest major contests in the county.
Ethan Corson and Renee Duxler received 683 votes, edging Cindy Holscher and KC Ohaebosim, who received 681. Curt Skoog and Jennifer Bacani McKenney received 124 votes.
That made the margin between the top two Democratic tickets just two votes in McPherson County.
Jennifer Day won the Democratic secretary of state race with 1,108 votes to Samuel Lane’s 225. Chris Mann, Juan C. Luengo and Dinah Sykes were unopposed in their respective Democratic statewide races for attorney general, state treasurer and commissioner of insurance.
Primary sets stage for November
For Moundridge and its surrounding townships, Tuesday’s election was less about dramatic local upsets than it was about establishing the field for November and demonstrating the county’s partisan balance.
Republicans supplied nearly 70% of all ballots cast, compared with roughly 21% for Democrats and 10% nonpartisan.
The local township results reflected that disparity, with Republican candidates generally receiving dozens or hundreds of votes while many Democratic township and precinct committee contests attracted only a few ballots.
The one major question open to voters regardless of party affiliation produced a different result: McPherson County voters rejected the proposed constitutional amendment by 690 votes.
The Kansas Secretary of State’s website lists Sept. 1 as the deadline for certification of the official statewide primary results.
For Moundridge-area voters, the next major election will be the Nov. 3 general election.
Then, the winners of the partisan primaries will meet their general-election opponents and voters will again consider the candidates and issues that make it onto the November ballot.