photo by: Peter Hancock

Jim Karleskint, Republican candidate, House District 42.

Leavenworth County voters carried incumbent Republican Jim Karleskint to victory in Tuesday’s contest for the 42nd District Kansas House seat.

The 42nd District includes Eudora in Douglas County, as well as the western parts of Leavenworth County, including Tonganoxie. In Douglas County, Karleskint, of Tonganoxie, was a few votes behind Democratic challenger Thea Perry, of rural Tonganoxie — Perry got 1,215 votes in Douglas County, while Karleskint got 1,201.

But Karleskint more than made up for it in Leavenworth County. He prevailed in the contest by an overall count of 5,381-3,133, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

Karleskint, a retired school administrator, said he ran for re-election to continue the progress the Kansas Legislature has made in reversing the fiscal policies of former Gov. Sam Brownback. As a moderate Republican, he said, he would be able to work with Governor-elect Laura Kelly. He said one of his priorities would be to work with both parties to reduce the state’s sales tax on food.

“We need to do something about the sales tax on food,” he said. “We have one of the highest sales taxes on food in the nation.”