With most votes in, KU law professor holds commanding lead in Douglas County DA race
With nearly 90% of votes in, a University of Kansas law professor holds a commanding lead in the Douglas County District Attorney’s race.
As of 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, 87 out of 100 precincts were reporting in the race. Valdez led the race with 5,922 votes, 40.33% of the total. The incumbent, Charles Branson and defense attorney Cooper Overstreet were separated by less than three points. Overstreet held 30.97% of the vote, 4,547 votes in total. Branson held 4,215 votes and 28.7% of the total.
This is the first time Branson has been contested since he was first elected in 2004.
Branson has been criticized for several decisions he has made recently including bringing charges against the owners of a Lawrence CBD store, pursuing false report charges against women who reported sexual assault and domestic violence, and retrying Rontarus Washington in a murder case that resulted in a hung jury last year.
Branson has called that criticism misdirected, uniformed and shortsighted.
Overstreet and Valdez presented themselves as alternatives to Branson.
Overstreet pledged to eliminate cash bail in the county, advocate for short prison sentences and expand diversion programs among other things.
Valdez said she hoped to fix systemic and cultural issues within the office.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 9:10 PM.
