photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Current County Commissioner Patrick Kelly, a Democrat representing District 1, speaks at a candidate forum on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

Incumbent Patrick Kelly, a Democrat, won the primary race on Tuesday night, and he will run unopposed in November’s election.

Kelly’s win on Tuesday means he would likely keep the District 1 seat and serve his third term following this year’s election. District 1 includes parts of northern, northwestern, and central Lawrence. Kelly has received 2,551 votes as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, and his opponent, Democrat Milton Scott garnered 2,338 votes, according to unofficial election results.

Kelly told the Journal-World on Tuesday that a win in the primary affirms “the trust that the community has put in me in the past, and I also am really grateful for it.”

Kelly said that when it comes to outlining priorities as a commissioner, he said the role of setting priorities is done annually though the budget process. He said setting those priorities will translate into policy.

“I think our value statements as a Commission come at budget time, and really what the things are that we think are most important, and then it’s making individual decisions along the way as items come to the Commission,” Kelly said.

Kelly has lived in Douglas County since 1989 when he came to attend the University of Kansas. He worked at Lawrence Public Schools for 31 years as a teacher and building and district administrator before retiring in 2024. Before serving on the Douglas County Commission, he served on the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission and the Lawrence Douglas County Planning Commission.

Kelly said the things he looks for is balance – how the county commissioners can balance the impact of what they ask the community to pay for and the services the county provides.

“I think about how we use data to inform and make good decisions, and then how we work with so many of our partners,” Kelly said. ” … Those relationships are very important, and I think that is an important thing for me as we look at how we work as a county, who are our partners and how we can best work together.”