photo by: Submitted photo

A political mailer paid for by the 1776 Project PAC is pictured.

All three candidates who received significant support from a conservative national political action committee came up short in their bids to win seats on the Baldwin school board on Tuesday.

Election results weren’t yet final, but late Tuesday, candidates Ken Snyder, Michael Kennedy and Buck Bradley all were several hundred votes behind their opponents, with just a few ballots left to be counted by the Douglas County Clerk’s office.

Jamie Cox was leading Kennedy 1,404 to 851 for position No. 1 on the USD 348 school board, Mindy King was leading Snyder 1,355 to 835 for position No. 2, and Lacy Kellerman led Bradley 1,356 to 905 for position No. 3.

The campaigns of Snyder, Kennedy and Bradley gained extra attention in Baldwin City and Douglas County when The 1776 Project — which opposes the teaching of critical race theory and has criticized a lack of patriotism in public education — sent a mailer supporting the three candidates to many voters in the USD 348 school district during the campaign.

The political action committee is based in New York, and its treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty last month to a federal fraud charge related to campaign finance violations involving her work for embattled U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York.

The PAC’s involvement created a debate in Baldwin City, a town of about 4,800 people south of Lawrence, over what role national political groups should have in local political races. It also produced a spirited campaign. Facebook pages attracting hundreds of comments on any given week were common during the campaign.

Here’s a look at other unofficial results for area races:

• Position No. 4 USD 348 school board: Bradley K. Peterson 1,235; Chad Brecheisen 828.

• Eudora school board, USD 491, with the top four vote winners receiving seats on the board: Claire Harding, 540; Kelley Woods, 534; Mark Chrislip, 516; Zachariah N. Brooks, 495; Becky Plate, 452; Lynn Reazin, 402.

• Baldwin City Council, with the top three receiving seats: Cory Venable, 765; Scott Lauridsen, 666; Julie Constantinescu, 651; Corissa Enneking, 329.

• Eudora City Commission, with the top three receiving seats: Roberta Lehmann, 401; Alex Curnes, 399; Timothy L. Bruce, 370; Brian Landon, 283; James Kerby, 231.