Johnson County Democrats win two Kansas House seats that were too close to call
Johnson County Democrats retained two seats in the Kansas House that appeared in jeopardy with vote tallies too close to call on election night.
As of last week, in the race for Kansas House District 16 in northern Johnson County, Democrat Linda Featherston led Republican Rashard Young by only one vote. And in southern Overland Park, only nine votes separated the candidates in Kansas’ District 48, with Democratic incumbent Jennifer Day trailing behind Republican challenger Terry Frederick.
But with final results out Thursday, the election office confirmed that both seats would remain in Democrats’ hands.
With the races too close to call on election night, provisional ballots determined the outcomes. And this year, Johnson County reported an unusually high number of those ballots, 13,000 in total. That was largely thanks to high voter turnout in general, plus more people requesting mail-in ballots but then casting votes in person anyway, Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt said.
Those ballots were reviewed Wednesday. And on Thursday afternoon, the election office certified the final results.
Featherston, who owns an Overland Park piano studio and is a strong proponent of public schools, won by 67 votes. She had 50.2% of the votes, or 7,130. Young, a director of outreach at the Kansas Treasurer’s Office, lost with 49.7%, with 7,063 votes.
“It was emotional,” Young said of watching the election results in an interview with The Star earlier this week. “It was really cool to look back and see what we did as a campaign. That seat hasn’t been held by a Republican for some time now. So we felt like we were working uphill. But even with the political climate, what we’ve done, to us, is very impressive.”
Featherston did not agree to an interview. She will replace fellow Democrat Cindy Holscher, who won her bid for a state Senate seat.
In the District 48 race, Day, the incumbent who runs a family-owned real estate investment business, won by 62 votes. She had 50.2% — or 6,911 votes — defeating Frederick, a former Johnson County water board member, with 49.7%, or 6,849 votes.
In total, the county reported 77.5% voter turnout, with 350,750 ballots cast. That was close to the record set in November 2008 of 78%.
Schmidt said the turnout, which was largely driven by mail-in and early voting, was “phenomenal for a county of our size.”
In notable local races, Johnson County elected three new county commissioners in nonpartisan races. Voters ousted Commissioner Mike Brown in the 6th District, which covers western Johnson County. Newcomer Shirley Allenbrand, a member of the Olathe Planning Commission, won the seat with 52.2% of the vote, to Brown’s 47.3%. According to Thursday’s final results, Allenbrand won by more than 2,200 votes.
Brown had a history of controversies while serving on the board, including most recently telling constituents to buy firearms and prepare for a coming war — which many officials rebuked him for, saying the rhetoric incited violence.
In the 3rd District, which covers southeastern Johnson County, Charlotte O’Hara, a self-described conservative and former state representative, won 58% of the vote, defeating challenger Stacy Obringer-Varhall, with 41.5%.
In the 2nd District in northern Johnson County, former Shawnee mayor Jeff Meyers received 59% of votes, beating opponent Rob Patterson, who had 41%.
Voters also reelected District Attorney Steve Howe, a Republican, who defeated Democratic challenger Zach Thomas.
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 5:35 PM.
