photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Commissioner Erica Anderson reads the latest election results on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.

Incumbent Erica Anderson will serve her second term on the Douglas County Commission after winning the District 5 race on Tuesday.

Anderson, a Democrat, had garnered 6,652 votes as of 9:50 p.m. Tuesday to win District 5, according to unofficial election results. The district includes a small portion of south Lawrence, southern Wakarusa Township, Baldwin City and Palmyra Township. Libertarian Kirsten Kuhn, Anderson’s opponent, received 1,992 votes.

This isn’t the first time Anderson and Kuhn have run against each other. In 2024, both candidates competed for the District 5 seat as the County Commission was expanding to five seats.

Anderson said the win gives her an opportunity to “dig in a little bit more.”

“I’ve only just started learning and really digging into the issues,” Anderson said, referring to the two-year term she served after winning the seat in 2024. “… There’s a lot to digest and build relationships with the other commissioners, but also with staff and our county administrator.”

Anderson added that the additional time will give her the chance to continue to build trust with District 5 and bridge the gap between Lawrence and other communities in the county.

“We know that across the county, a lot of the dollars go to Lawrence,” Anderson said. “And so how can we continue to build an understanding of how we diversify our funding opportunities to not just Baldwin, but also Eudora and Lecompton, and truly understand what equity means in funding more than just initiatives in Lawrence.”

Anderson has lived in Douglas County for more than 40 years and has worked at Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Humana, Tobacco Free Kansas and Kaiser Permanente. Her professional work has focused on the intersection of health, policy, population health and community systems.

She said that she wanted to focus “on stabilizing our communities, stabilizing those that are most suffering in our community and just a focus on spending and ensuring that we are spending the dollars in the right direction.”