Election briefs
Douglas County
Several area races go uncontested
Candidates in more than half of the seven Douglas County races for seats in the Kansas House ran unopposed this year.
Anthony Brown, a Republican and first-time candidate from Eudora, will represent the 38th District. Brown replaces Rob Boyer, a Republican who in the primary unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Kay O’Connor for the 9th District Senate seat.
In the 44th District, Democratic incumbent Barbara Ballard was unchallenged. Ballard, a Lawrence resident and Kansas University administrator, was first elected to the House in 1992.
Democratic incumbent Paul Davis was unchallenged for his 46th House District seat. Davis is an attorney who lives in Lawrence.
Republican incumbent Joe Humerickhouse was unopposed in the 59th House District. Humerickhouse, an independent fee appraiser from Osage City, was first elected in 1994.
19th Senate District
Democratic leader keeps Senate seat
The Democratic leader of the Kansas Senate on Tuesday held off a challenge from an anti-gay marriage pastor he called a “one-issue opponent.”
Anthony Hensley of Topeka, a member of the Kansas Legislature since 1976 and a member of the Senate since 1992, earned about two-thirds of the vote in the race to represent the 19th Kansas Senate District. He defeated Republican Bob Hanson, a Topeka pastor.
Much of the race focused on whether the state should approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Hanson testified in favor of the amendment during the last legislative session; Hensley voted against it.
45th house District
Sloan repels challenge
Republican incumbent Tom Sloan handily defeated Libertarian Patrick Wilbur for the 45th District seat in the Kansas House. Sloan, 48, has served 10 years in the Kansas House and four years as chief of staff to the Kansas Senate president. Wilbur, 38, works as a project director for Pearson Government Solutions in Lawrence.
Sloan ran on a platform that included more funding for public schools and higher education, and increased investment in wind energy and biosciences.
Wilbur’s platform included making government, especially schools, more efficient before increasing taxes.
53rd District
Democrat wins 53rd
In the 53rd District House race, Democrat Ann Mah edged out Republican Jack Woelfel by a few hundred votes. Libertarian candidate Thomass Lessman finished a distant third. The district includes southwest Douglas County.
Mah campaigned on the issues of adequate funding for schools and letting small businesses participate in the state’s health insurance plan. Her previous political experience was as Democratic precinct committeewoman.
Woelfel served as a Republican precinct committeeman. He ran on a platform that also focused on school funding, as well as keeping taxes down and the right to carry concealed weapons.