More than left or right, this issue divided Johnson County’s winners and losers

A word that seemed scary to many of Johnson County’s suburban voters even in recent years turned out to be a winning issue in races across the county in this week’s local elections: apartments.

Beyond just apartments, the conversation in many races revolved — and diverged — around candidates’ attitudes toward growth in general.

From Overland Park to Shawnee, candidates who weren’t afraid to talk about the ways they want their cities to keep up with a continually growing and changing population — with promises of creating more housing and more affordable options, and updating aging infrastructure — won big.

And candidates who stoked fear in voters — with the threat of towering multi-family complexes destroying their communities or costly local infrastructure projects driving up taxes — lost by clear margins.

Tuesday’s results suggest that Johnson County’s swelling “blue wave” seems to have crossed into issues that have been sticking points as recently as the last few election cycles, namely around housing and development.

While county voters have previously rejected candidates who ran on culture war issues such as promoting book bans in schools or alleging election fraud, those who ran on platforms opposing zoning changes or apartment development had still found success at the polls in recent years.

Several candidates and local leaders who spoke with The Star said that the shift in this week’s races indicate that voters may be tired of being told to fear change and are instead resonating with candidates who embraced growth. The results may also reflect residents grappling with the county’s ongoing housing and affordability crisis.

“I really do feel like, for whatever reason, some of their opponents on the other side really used a lot of dishonest tactics and fear-mongering,” said Jessica Persson, the executive director for the Johnson County Democrats. “And I think that voters are just kind of tired of that.”

Blue wave?

While most of the local races were nonpartisan, most successful candidates in Tuesday’s general election leaned left of center and were backed by the county’s Democratic Party, or identified as more moderate Republicans.

Democrat-backed candidates won 94% of the races in Johnson County, an 11% increase from total wins during the 2023 elections, Persson said.

“Our candidates really care about economic growth in our communities and you can’t have economic growth if you are not open to new development,” Persson said. “That definitely was a trend, a true line for candidates who won their elections.”

The Johnson County Republican Party wasn’t available for comment before publication.

Johnson County voters had leaned slightly to the right for a long time, and part of their apparent shift left could be attributed at least in part to the evolution of the Republican Party and increasing polarization on the national stage, Prairie Village City Council incumbent Cole Robinson and Persson said.

“Back in, you know, 2000, this county was overwhelmingly Republican and that has just steadily changed,” Persson said.

As the Republican Party’s views have swung further right not just nationally but also locally, more moderate candidates who may have run as Republicans in Johnson County in the past are finding room under the Democratic umbrella and resonating with voters, Robinson said.

Several county leaders who previously identified as moderate Republicans, including County Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog have switched parties and won in local races.

“So, I think the moderateness of Johnson County now just lives under the Democratic affiliation,” Robinson said. “In these nonpartisan races, it’s a little less important.”

Housing as a winning issue

Skoog’s reelection in particular may shed light on voters’ changing attitudes around housing and development specifically.

In 2021, Skoog just barely won his bid for mayor — by just over 700 votes — against a conservative candidate who ran on a platform opposing high-rise apartment buildings and congestion.

In this year’s race, Skoog faced former Overland Park City Council member Faris Farassati, who has consistently criticized tax breaks for private developers and apartment complexes.

Skoog won by more than 15,000 votes.

Similarly in Prairie Village, voters in 2023 elected several candidates backed by a group known as PV United that was largely opposed to changing the city’s zoning to make room for more affordable housing. This year, every candidate backed by PV United lost to more moderate opponents.

As Johnson County continues to lose its attainable housing stock, which refers to homes that are $300,000 or less, more residents are feeling burdened by the rising costs of living. Johnson County’s aging population has struggled to age in place and its first-time homebuyers struggled to find starter homes as smaller, more affordable options aren’t readily available.

Creating more housing options and supporting attainable housing development to support residents in all stages of life quickly became a top priority for candidates and resonated with voters countywide.

The candidates who won this week — regardless of party — took strong stances on housing and campaigned on messages of progress for their communities, said Drew Mitrisin, an Overland Park City Council member.

“I think that was the theme of the last couple of elections of just the difference between wanting to keep moving forward and keep growing and continue to thrive and provide a quality of life for folks,” Mitrisin said. “And the alternative perspective, which was to go back in time and kind of go back towards the 60s or 70s, or just a time when we were less inclusive and maybe a less vibrant economy.”

Development is bipartisan

Historically, the most pro-development voices used to be conservative leaning, like the sectors of the business community who wanted to see growth but lower taxes, Mitrisin said.

“It’s been interesting to see how the small wing of the conservative side has latched onto the anti-development thing, and it hasn’t worked out electorally in Overland Park and parts of Johnson County,” he said.

One Republican-backed candidate who stepped away from this stance was Andrew Payne, who is poised to win a close race for a seat on the Overland Park City Council. Results won’t be officially certified for a few more days.

“He would be a good example of that traditional Johnson County perspective, maybe a little conservative leaning, business minded, but still supportive of development,” Mitrisin said.

Payne’s campaign acknowledged that the region is growing and he wanted to be a person who could manage growth responsibly, “not stopping development, but shaping it.”

“I think voters resonated with my priorities and I think that voters were really looking toward boots on the ground, practical issues in making their decision,” Payne said. “That transcended party lines and that was the goal to begin with. We weren’t necessarily running with a party in mind, but priorities with the city in mind.”

“Ultimately voters want balanced, forward-thinking leadership, and from day one I wanted to bring a problem-solving and listening mentality toward this, and we want to continue making Overland Park a great place.”

‘Fear-mongering’ didn’t work

The conservative candidates who pushed back on change and development didn’t resonate as much with voters this time around, particularly in Shawnee, where two conservative incumbents lost their seats and newcomers with ties to the Republican Party lost their bids.

“I think we saw this in Shawnee and other cities that there’s a certain element of certain candidates or parties that back them sending out messages, I would call it fear-mongering, and I think people are sick of that,” said Eric Persson, a Shawnee candidate who won against conservative incumbent Mike Kemmling.

One mailer in particular said that Persson and fellow Democratic candidates wanted to build apartments on 300 acres of green space, which isn’t true, Persson said.

“I think people are becoming a little bit tired of that type of messaging — getting people to vote based on fear as opposed to: This is what we’re going to do moving forward,” he said.

“Fear-mongering messages leaves out a huge swath of voters potentially and alienates them as opposed to the message of inclusivity and being a community that’s welcoming to all, really.”

In Prairie Village, and in some other races around the county, voters didn’t have the chance to hear as much from their conservative counterparts as several candidates declined to participate in forums or fill out questionnaires for the Johnson County Post and the Kansas City Beacon.

“You really have to communicate with voters and explain how you solve problems,” Robinson said. “If you run a good campaign, you can really, you know, communicate with voters that you’re coming with a place of trust and genuineness.

Voters wanted to hear the candidates’ ideas for the future, not just issues with a city’s current state, Robinson said.

“I think if you go back and you look at … the people that wanted to solve problems and lead versus complain about them and criticize, the problem-solvers won,” he said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 6:29 AM.