A record 32,542 Douglas Countians had turned out for the Nov. 6 elections, 81.5 percent of registered voters. The previous mark had been 29,121 in 1980. Poll workers in many cases labored into the wee hours of the morning before they completed their tabulations.

One of the hottest local contests saw Jim Flory, Republican, defeat Mike Glover, Democrat, for the district attorney post by a 17,022 to 14,358 count.

The county commmission was to get two new faces Eudora Democrat David Hopper narrowly defeated Eudora Republican Bob Nieis in the 2nd District and Republican Warren Rhodes defeated Democrat Linda Lubensky in the 3rd District. All the local legislators were returned to office.

Nationally, incumbent Republican president Ronald Reagan scored a 49-state victory over Democrat Walter Mondale. It was declared a major landslide. Mondale said that if Reagan didn’t change his governmental philosophy, the nation was headed for “hard times.”

Veteran law officer Rex Johnson won his sixth election for the county sheriff’s job, defeating Democrat Merle Rothwell by some 7,000 votes.