photo by: AdobeStock

The Kansas State Capitol building is shown in Topeka.

Four candidates filed for Kansas House races in the Douglas County area close to the June 1 deadline, and two of them have turned uncontested general election races into contested ones.

Every seat in the Kansas House is up for election this year, and some of the districts in Douglas County still have races where the incumbent is unchallenged. But Districts 117 and 42 both had challengers file within days of the deadline, setting up contested races in November.

District 117 includes parts of Lawrence and Eudora and extends farther east into Johnson County. Brandon Holland, a Democrat from Baldwin City, filed Friday, according to the Douglas County elections website, and will face Adam Turk, a Republican from Shawnee, in the general election.

District 42 represents most of Eudora and extends north into Leavenworth County. It already expected a contested Republican primary with two Tonganoxie Republicans, incumbent Lance Neelly and challenger Mike Stieben. But on Friday, Brandon Wendt of Tonganoxie filed as a Democrat, so the primary winner will no longer be running unopposed in November.

Other filings added more candidates in Republican primary races in rural districts south of Lawrence.

Jon Chitwood from Spring Hill filed in District 5, which spans southwestern Douglas County and parts of Franklin, Miami and Johnson counties. He will enter the Republican primary race against incumbent Courtney Sappington of Baldwin City and Courtney L. Crawford of Paola. The winner will face rural Douglas County Democrat Henry Johns in the general election.

And Steven Scott, a Republican from Ozawkie, filed in District 47, which covers parts of Jackson, Jefferson and Douglas counties including the southwestern edge of Lawrence. He will face Paula Newell Ellis from Meriden and Christopher W. Feuerborn from Ozawkie in the Republican primary contest; the winner will advance to face Mary T. Williams, a Democrat from Meriden. Rep. Ronald B. Ellis, the Republican who currently holds the seat, did not file for reelection.

The primary election will be on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and the general election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 3.