Francisco, other Democrats win within Lawrence, but Republicans win legislative victories outside city | News, sports, jobs

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Marci Francisco

In central Lawrence, Democrats maintained their dominance in the race for the Kansas Legislature. But on the outskirts of the city and in the rural areas around it, Republicans won several legislative victories Tuesday.

Incumbent Marci Francisco easily retained her Lawrence seat in the Kansas Senate, and a Democrat from Topeka easily won a seat in a new Senate district that includes northwest Lawrence and east Topeka. There was no opposition in most of the Lawrence Democratic races in the Kansas House of Representatives, and next session the Lawrence House delegation will include four Democrats.

But Republicans prevailed in several races in Douglas County, which also included areas in neighboring counties. Shawnee County Republican Rick Kloos won a Senate seat in Kansas that includes parts of western Lawrence, and Johnson County Republican Beverly Gossage won a Senate seat that includes Eudora, Baldwin City and eastern Douglas County. Republican Carrie Barth of Baldwin City won a House seat that includes southern Douglas County and parts of Franklin and Miami counties.

Here's a look at the unofficial results of several general elections in Lawrence and the region:

• Democrat Marci Francisco easily retained her seat in Kansas Senate District No. 2, the largest Senate district in Lawrence. Francisco defeated Republican challenger David Miller 78% to 22% as of 9:45 p.m., with more than 90% of precincts reporting.

Francisco has held the seat since 2005 and was a former Lawrence city commissioner. Miller is a former state lawmaker who was a statewide Republican leader in the 1990s. The Senate district includes almost all of Lawrence, with the exception of parts of far western Lawrence and parts of northwest Lawrence, and leans heavily Democratic.

• Shawnee County Republican Rick Kloos was projected to defeat Topeka Democrat Dena Sattler in Kansas Senate District No. 3, which includes much of the Lawrence city limits west of Wakarusa Drive, but also all of Osage County and parts of Franklin and Shawnee includes . Kloos was leading 58% to 42% as of 9:45 p.m., with 95% of precincts reporting. Kloos has served in the Kansas Senate since 2020 and currently represents part of the district. However, due to once-a-decade redistricting, the boundaries of Kansas Senate District #3 are very different from Kloos' current Kansas Senate District #19.

• Incumbent Sen. Beverly Gossage, a rural Republican who lives in Johnson County between Eudora and De Soto, defeated rural Lawrence Democrat Norman Mallicoat 59% to 41% in Kansas Senate District No. 9. The results were in at 9:45 p.m. Just over 30% of counties are reporting. The district includes the entire city limits of Baldwin City, Eudora and Tonganoxie as well as De Soto and a heavily populated portion of Johnson County along Kansas Highway 7 between Olathe and Lenexa.

• Two Topeka residents vied for a seat in the new Kansas Senate District No. 19, which includes northwest Lawrence, east Topeka and the rural interparish area, including Lecompton. It wasn't a particularly close fight, as Democrat Patrick Schmidt won against Republican Tyler Wible 64% to 36%, according to all precincts. The district is strongly democratic.

• Incumbent Republican Carrie Barth easily defeated challenger Henry Johns, a rural Democrat from Douglas County, in Kansas House District No. 5. Barth, a Baldwin City resident, defeated Johns 66% to 34% in the district that includes Baldwin City, Wellsville, parts of rural Douglas County and parts of Miami County to the east. As of 9:45 a.m., 80% of districts had reported.

• Incumbent Republican Lance Neelly of Tonganoxie defeated Lawrence Democrat Eddy Martinez in Kansas House District No. 42. The district includes small portions of Lawrence, primarily east of O'Connell Road and a smaller section east of Harper Street. However, the district includes most of the rural area of ​​northeast Douglas County, including the northern portion of the Eudora city limits. The district also extends deep into Leavenworth County, including Tonganoxie. Neelly, who has served in the Kansas Legislature since 2021, was 62% to 38% with 60% of precincts counted as of 9:45 p.m.

• Incumbent Republican Adam Turk defeated rural Democrat Bill Hammond of Douglas County in Kansas House District No. 117, which includes the southern city limits of Eudora and parts of rural Douglas County southeast of Lawrence. The district also includes portions of De Soto and portions of Johnson County along the Kansas Highway 7 corridor. Turk, a Shawnee resident, was leading 57% to 43% with nearly 90% of precincts counted as of 9:45 p.m.

• In the race for the seat of the Kansas State Board of Education, the top policy-making body for K-12 public schools in the state, one of the regional races was too close to call. Tonganoxie Republican Connie O'Brien, with 97% of precincts counted, held a slim 51% to 49% lead over Democrat Kris Meyer of De Soto in State Board of Education District No. 4. About 2,300 votes separated the two candidates.

District 4 includes most of rural Douglas County as well as the Baldwin City and Eudora school districts. It encompasses much of the city of Lawrence and extends south of the South Lawrence Trafficway. The district includes most of the rural areas of the Lawrence School District, excluding areas northwest of the city, and also includes much of the southwestern portion of the City of Lawrence.

Outside Douglas County, District 4 includes parts of several neighboring counties, including Shawnee, Johnson, Franklin and Leavenworth, as well as all of Osage County and part of Wyandotte County.

• Topeka Democrat Beryl Ann New had a much more commanding lead in Kansas Board of Education District No. 6. New led Wamego Republican Bruce Schultz 57% to 43%, with 98% of precincts counted.

District 6 includes those portions of the Lawrence School District that lie northwest of the District 4 boundary line. It includes most of Lawrence's city limits and the rural area northwest of Lawrence. Lecompton and parts of the Perry-Lecompton School District are also part of District 6. District 6 also extends further west and includes part of Shawnee County and all of Wabaunsee, Geary, Morris and Lyon counties.

• Four Lawrence Democrats faced no opposition in the general election for Kansas House seats. They all drove to victory. They are: House District 10: Suzanne Wikle, D-Lawrence; House District 44: Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence; House District 45; Mike Amyx, D-Lawrence; House District 46: Brooklynne Mosley, D-Lawrence.