Voters in Pawnee County headed to the polls Tuesday, and by the time the returns were in, it was apparent the county largely followed the state returns. Locally, Deborah Lewis, a Democrat, received 93 votes for County Commissioner 1st District.
Probably the hottest race in the state was that for candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. In a county with just under 7,000 population, 910 Republicans went to the polls Tuesday night to cast their votes for the 2018 gubernatorial candidate. Just over a third voted for Kris Kobach (376) and for Jeff Colyer (346), with the final third voting for other Republican candidates.
Democrats were also out, with 233 voting for gubernatorial candidates. Laura Kelly came in first with 91 votes, just six more than Josh Svaty, and the remainder to other candidates.
Pawnee County is split between two U.S. House of Representatives districts. For the “Big First,” the only primary race was for the Republican candidate. Incumbent Congressman Roger Marshall was the clear winner with 82 percent of the vote. Alan LaPolice received 185 Democratic votes.
For District 4’s Democratic race, James Thompson (7) won over Laura Lombard (5). District 4’s Republican winner was Rep. Ron Estes (44), over Ron M. Estes (10).
The race for Republican candidate for Kansas House of Representatives District 113 was tight, with Brett Fairchild (17) narrowly taking the lead over incumbent Rep. Greg Lewis (16). The race for the Democratic candidate for Dist 113 resulted in a small win for David Curtis (2) over David Serrault (zero).
Leonard A. Mastroni received 739 Republican votes for State Rep. 117th district.
Jean Clifford received 749 votes for the State Board of Education 5th District.
Bruce T. Gatterman received 837 votes for District Judge 24th District.
Returns for Republican candidate for Secretary of State are as follows: Randy Duncan (285), Keith Esau (34), Craig McCullah (82), Scott Schwab (304), and Dennis Taylor (106). Brian “BAM” McClendon received 199 Democratic votes.
Clark Shultz (507) came in ahead of Vicki Schmidt (350) for Commissioner of Insurance, though Schmidt was in the lead in the statewide poll. Nathaniel McLaughlin received 195 votes for the Democratic candidacy.
For State Treasurer, Jake LaTurner received 762 Republican votes, and Maci Francisco received 199 Democratic votes.
For Attorney General, Derek Schmidt received 800 Republican votes, and Sarah G. Swain received 204 Democratic votes.