photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Sen. Marci Francisco looks at the final results from Tuesday night's election, as supporters gathered around her at Black Stag Brewery in downtown Lawrence on Aug. 6, 2024.

Longtime political experience was a fickle ingredient for ballot success in area legislative races Tuesday night.

On the one hand, voters delivered a primary election victory for nearly two-decade-long state Sen. Marci Francisco, but voters rejected the Kansas House minority leader as he tried to win a new state Senate seat that includes parts of Lawrence and Topeka.

Francisco on Tuesday won the Democratic primary for Kansas Senate District 2 over Rep. Christina Haswood, who chose not to run for reelection in the House, despite being viewed as one of the up-and-coming Democrats in that chamber.

Francisco won 57% to 42% — a margin of about 940 votes — in the rare primary that pitted two elected officials against each other.

“They knew me,” Francisco said about voters and her campaign, which highlighted that she’s had perfect attendance in the Kansas Legislature since being first elected in 2005, and that she works across the aisle and tries to make bills better.

“I think I have earned their trust,” Francisco said in an interview with the Journal-World Tuesday evening.

Voters, however, did not simply go with familiar faces on Tuesday. Rep. Vic Miller — a Topeka lawmaker whose legislative history dates back to the 1970s — lost his bid to become the Democratic nominee for Kansas Senate District 19, a new district that includes northwest Lawrence, east Topeka and the rural areas in between the two cities.

Miller is the House minority leader — the top-ranking Democrat in the House — but he lost handily to Patrick Schmidt, a Naval Reserve officer who raised and spent a tremendous amount of money in the race.

Schmidt — who held a 54% to 34% lead over Miller — spent about $130,000 on the race — about $100,000 more than Miller. But Schmidt told the Journal-World that the difference in the race wasn’t the money, but rather the approximately 6,000 doors he knocked on in the district.

“We really got our message from the doors we knocked on,” Schmidt said.

A couple of other area incumbents fared better — one in a landslide and the other in a nail biter. Sen. Beverly Gossage easily won her Republican primary contest in Kansas Senate District 9, which includes parts of Johnson, Leavenworth and eastern Douglas counties. Gossage defeated rural Lawrence winery operator Bryan Zesiger by a 75% to 25% margin. She will face Norman Mallicoat, of Olathe, who is the lone Democrat to file for the seat.

But incumbent Rep. Lance Neelly had to go through a close race to win a Republican primary victory in Kansas House District 42, which includes northeast Douglas County and large portions of Eudora. Neelly faced a stiff challenge from sitting Leavenworth County Commissioner Mike Stieben. Neelly won by 41 votes, according to unofficial totals. He will face Lawrence resident Eddy Martinez, who is the lone Democrat to file for the seat.

Here’s a look at unofficial results from Tuesday’s election in a host of area legislative races and what’s next for the November general election:

Senate District 2

Francisco’s primary victory puts the retired University of Kansas facilities planner in a good position to continue a local political career that started with her 1979 election to the Lawrence City Commission.

Francisco has served in the Kansas Senate since 2005, and ran a campaign that highlighted protecting a women’s right to an abortion, “fair and progressive” tax policies and several programs related to water resources and environmental concerns.

Francisco, however, hasn’t faced many races like this one. Haswood made the rare decision to leave the Kansas House to challenge a fellow member of her party. But Haswood, who is an environmental consultant for Native American tribal nations, picked up key support during the campaign. She won the endorsement of former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, while Francisco won the endorsement of the current governor, Kelly.

Both candidates raised large amounts of money for the race with Haswood taking in more than $50,000 in contributions prior to the primary election. But Tuesday’s loss means Haswood will no longer be at the Statehouse. She had to forgo seeking reelection to her relatively safe Kansas House district in order to run for the Senate.

Francisco will now square off against Lawrence resident David Miller in the general election. Miller is the lone Republican to file for the Senate seat in the heavily Democratic district.

House District 46

Brooklynne Mosley easily won the Democratic nomination for Kansas House District 46, a northeast Lawrence district that became open after longtime Lawrence lawmaker Boog Highberger’s retirement from the Legislature.

Mosley, a former campaign staffer of Gov. Laura Kelly, won 67% of the vote, besting Democratic competitors Brittany Hall and Logan Ginavan.

Mosley told the Journal-World that she heard much from voters on the issues of child care, health care and food security.

“This race really centered on raising the ceiling for the most vulnerable among us,” Mosley said.

Mosley has a clear path to the Legislature, as no Republican filed for the House seat.

House District 10

Democratic voters also overwhelmingly chose Suzanne Wikle for a Kansas House seat in south Lawrence that became open when Haswood chose to leave the House to challenge Francisco for a Senate seat. Wikle brought lots of political experience to the campaign as a professional advocate for policies related to children and families.

Wikle ran a campaign that focused on affordable and accessible health care, support for education systems, and relieving economic stress by shoring up the state’s safety-net system.

No Republican filed for the seat, which makes it likely that Wikle will win election in the general election.

“I look forward to engaging with constituents and getting to work in January to represent them in Topeka,” she told the Journal-World.

Senate District 19

Schmidt will square off against Topeka building contractor Tyler Wible, who won a convincing victory in the GOP primary over Lawrence resident Cynthia Smith. Wible won with 62% of the vote. Wible ran a campaign that focused on support for lower property and income taxes, greater transparency in government, and more youth involvement in community matters.

Schmidt said Tuesday’s election, on the Democratic side, featured voters who were deeply concerned about protecting women’s rights, and voters who wanted to understand “what the Legislature could do to restore a sense of normalcy and control to their everyday lives.”

“No matter what the issue is, what we are talking about is how can we deliver more results for people in the state, essentially on issues that overwhelming majority of Kansans regardless of political affiliation agree on,” Schmidt told the Journal-World.

Voters next will go to the polls for the Nov. 5 general election. The deadline to register to vote in the general election is Oct. 15. Advance voting begins the next day.

Turnout for the November election is expected to be much higher, as the U.S. presidential race will be on the ballot.

Voter turnout in Douglas Count on Tuesday was slow, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said. Douglas County turnout was just 17.7%, according to unofficial results.