Two tight election races at the state level have been called.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, narrowly won a second term in office, turning aside a major challenge from current Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican. Kelly defeated Schmidt by 14,000 votes out of over 975,000 cast. Libertarian Seth Cordell and Independent Dennis Pyle combined for nearly 30,000 votes.
The other close position race sees the return of a controversial figure in Kansas politics. Kris Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state and the 2020 Republican nominee for governor, won a tight race for attorney general involving Democrat Chris Mann. Kobach won by around 22,000 votes out of almost 965,000 total votes.
6:40 am Wednesday: Governor, attorney general races not yet called; Republicans win treasurer, secretary of state, insurance commissioner posts
The race for governor still hasn’t been called, and Republicans maintain their level of presence in the state administration following Election Day.
With all precincts listed as reporting their results, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly leads her Republican challenger, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, by 14,000 votes out of 976,000 cast as of 6 am Wednesday. Libertarian Seth Cordell and Independent Dennis Pyle combined for nearly 30,000 votes.
Another tight race involves the attorney general position Schmidt is leaving. Republican Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, leads Democrat Chris Mann 51-49 percent.
Other races weren’t as close, including the one for treasurer. Republican Steven Johnson defeated Democratic incumbent Lynn Rogers 54-41 percent, while Republican incumbent Scott Schwab defeated Democratic challenger Jeanna Repass 59-38 percent for Kansas secretary of state and Republican incumbent Vicki Schmidt defeated Democratic challenger Kiel Corkran 63-37 percent for insurance commissioner.
One of the two constitutional amendments on the Kansas ballot was passed with ease, while the other is neck-and-neck. The amendment codifying the sheriff election and recall process passed with 62 percent of the vote. The amendment designed to give the Legislature the power to overturn certain rules and regulations is a statistical dead heat, with no currently beating yes by 6,000 votes out of over 920,000 cast.
At the federal level, Republican incumbent Jerry Moran defeated Democratic challenger Mark Holland 60-37 percent. Republican incumbent Jake LaTurner will represent the US House Second District, defeating Democratic challenger Patrick Schmidt 58-42 percent.
