The Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

Topeka ? With returns coming in late from Johnson County, it was unclear Tuesday night how many seats Democrats might pick up in the Kansas Legislature, or if it would be enough to tip the balance of power in the House and Senate.

Conservative Republicans lost eight seats in the Kansas Senate in the Aug. 2 primaries, and Democrats were hoping to gain enough more to form a kind of governing coalition with moderate Republicans.

As of midnight, however, Democrats appeared to have gained only one seat in the Kansas Senate, an open seat in the 25th District in Wichita where incumbent Sen. Michael O’Donnell had stepped down. But many other races were either too close or not enough votes had been reported to make a call.

Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said Tuesday night he was expecting to pick up three to four seats for the Democrats, who currently hold only eight of the 40 Senate seats.

In the House, however, Democrats had made a few more gains, although it wasn’t yet clear whether it would be enough to form a similar kind of coalition in the lower chamber.

Two Republican House members who appeared to be headed toward defeat were Reps. John Bradford and Toni Barton, both of Leavenworth County.

According to unofficial returns, Bradford, from Lansing, lost his race to Democrat Debbie Deere, 48-52 percent. Barton, from Leavenworth, lost his race to Democrat Jeff Pittman, 45-55 percent.

Democrats also picked up two seats in the Sedgwick County area, defeating incumbent Republican Reps. Joe Scapa and Steve Anthimides.

Kansas Democratic Party executive director Kerry Gooch remained optimistic late Tuesday.

“I know we’re still waiting on results from Johnson County and a couple of other places around the state,” he said. “I definitely would say, no matter what, it wasn’t disappointing. It’s been a while since we just picked up seats in the state Legislature. So taking any step forward was our biggest goal for the year.”

But Kansas GOP chairman Kelly Arnold said he was pleased with the results so far.

“Overall, for the Republican Party, I think we’ve had a great night, with the assumption that Donald Trump continues to do well,” he said. “On state races, specifically the State Senate, (Senate Minority Leader) Anthony Hensley tried to make this whole state campaign a referendum on (Gov.) Sam Brownback, and it failed.”

As of midnight, Johnson County was reporting results from only about 79 percent of its 3,509 precincts.