Who is running in Shawnee County, Kansas in 2026
- County Commissioner, District 1
- Lance Royer, Jack Calcutt and Aric Hermann
- U.S. Senator
- Adam Hamilton, Roger Marshall and David C. Graham
- Governor / Lieutenant Governor
- Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim and Ty Masterson / Jeffrey Klemp
- Secretary of State
- Jennifer Day, Scott E. Morgan and Pat Proctor
- Attorney General
- Chris Mann and Kris Kobach
- State Treasurer
- Steven Johnson, Juan C. Luengo and Eric Lund
- Commissioner of Insurance
- Dinah Sykes, Daniel Hawkins and Ric Koehn
- U.S. Representative, District 2
- Don Coover, Derek Schmidt and John Hauer
- State Board of Education, District 1
- Jennifer Lloyd and Amy Cawvey
- Kansas House District 52
- Toni Scalia and Jesse Borjon
- Kansas House District 54
- Chris Tanner and Ken Corbet
- Kansas House District 55
- Tobias Schlingensiepen and Lanell Griffith
- Kansas House District 56
- Virgil Weigel and Elvin Fajardo
- Kansas House District 58
- Alexis Simmons and Michael H. Mathewson
Shawnee County
County commission races in Kansas are partisan. Only the District 1 seat is up this year. Topeka's city council and mayor and the school boards are elected in odd years, so they aren't on this ballot. Township clerk races are not covered. The county hasn't posted any county, city or school ballot questions for November.
County Commissioner, District 1
Vote for oneOpen seat. Republican Bill Riphahn isn't running again. Lance Royer beat Cooper Melvin in the August Democratic primary.
Lance Royer
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants a self-funded child care center modeled on the Family Forward program, and says the county should recruit employers "without providing unreasonably large tax credits." Endorsed by state Reps. Tobias Schlingensiepen, Kirk Haskins and Alexis Simmons and by former Topeka mayors Larry Wolgast, Michelle De La Isla and Mike Padilla.
Sources: VOTE411, Campaign site
Jack Calcutt
Seems like good people RepublicanA chartered financial analyst who says "we need to lower taxes above all else" and wants county industrial revenue bonds aimed at walkable housing downtown. We found nothing troubling, but he has no record in elected office.
Sources: VOTE411, Campaign site
Aric Hermann
Not enough info LibertarianGot about 5 percent running for Kansas House District 53 in 2024, when his first goal was legalizing marijuana. Calls himself "incredibly pro-gun" and a member of the NRA.
Sources: Ballotpedia
3rd District judges (retention)
Not profiledYes or no on keeping District Judges Jason E. Geier (Division 1), Lori Dougherty-Bichsel (5), Penny R. Moylan (7), Mary E. Mattivi (10) and Cheryl A. Rios (11). We haven't profiled judges yet.
State and federal
All of Shawnee County is in the 2nd Congressional District and State Board of Education District 1. The county is split among eight Kansas House districts (50 and 52 to 58); check VoterView or the county's candidate list to see which one is yours. The Kansas Senate is not on the ballot this year.
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAdam Hamilton
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRoger Marshall
Not good people RepublicanDavid C. Graham
Not enough info LibertarianRan for this seat in 2022 on shrinking the federal government, ending proxy wars and easing up on nonviolent offenders. This year he has no campaign website and didn't respond when KCUR asked for campaign materials.
Sources: Lawrence Times, iVoterGuide, KCUR
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat.
Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on the cost of living, and wants a pause on big AI data centers over their energy use and what they do to water and utility bills. Endorsed by former governors Kathleen Sebelius and John Carlin, the Kansas AFL-CIO and the teachers' union PAC.
Sources: Campaign site, News From the States, Wikipedia
Ty Masterson / Jeffrey Klemp
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump and Sen. Roger Marshall. Runs on fiscal responsibility, though his homebuilding business went under and he filed for bankruptcy in 2010 with more than $1.1 million in debt.
Sources: Wikipedia, American Journal News
Secretary of State
Vote for oneThe secretary of state runs Kansas elections. Two good choices here.
Jennifer Day
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratHas worked the polls herself and says Kansans deserve elections "safe, secure and accessible to every eligible citizen." In the House she co-sponsored a bill to keep officers with misconduct histories from being rehired.
Sources: Campaign site, Eureka Herald, Wikipedia
Scott E. Morgan
Seems like good people United KansasWorked for Senators Dole and Kassebaum and represented the U.S. Senate on the Federal Election Commission. Argues the state's top election official shouldn't be chosen in a partisan race at all.
Sources: Campaign site, Johnson County Post
Pat Proctor
Compromised RepublicanPassed the SAVE Kansas Act, which uses public benefits data to purge suspected noncitizens from the voter rolls and limits online registration. Calls his opponent a "California Democrat."
Sources: Campaign video, Wikipedia
Attorney General
Vote for oneChris Mann
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratLeft policing after a drunk driver hit him during a traffic stop, then chaired Mothers Against Drunk Driving nationally and helped pass the Kansas ignition interlock law. Endorsed by Gov. Laura Kelly, 16 unions and a Republican sheriff, Greg Taylor of Neosho County.
Sources: DAGA, Ballotpedia, Mann campaign, Wikipedia
Kris Kobach
Not good people RepublicanWas vice chair of Trump's 2017 Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. In September 2026 he sent the League of Women Voters a cease-and-desist letter over student voter drive incentives, and drew an ethics complaint over corporate donations that came in around when his office joined related lawsuits.
Sources: KCUR, Mann campaign news, Mann campaign
State Treasurer
Vote for oneTwo decent people. Johnson has a record in the job; Luengo would bring insurance and small-business experience.
Steven Johnson
Seems like good people RepublicanSays he cut fees on the state's investment savings plans by more than $25 million a year. Endorsed by Sen. Roger Marshall and three former treasurers.
Sources: Campaign site, Wikipedia
Juan C. Luengo
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratHas 20 years in commercial insurance and chaired the state Democrats' Hispanic Caucus. Running on a voice for small businesses and protecting seniors from rising property taxes.
Sources: Liberal First, Ballotpedia
Eric Lund
Not enough info LibertarianHas no campaign website and gave no platform when Kansas news outlets asked.
Sources: KCUR
Commissioner of Insurance
Vote for oneDinah Sykes
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants closer scrutiny of rate increases and lower prescription costs, and won't take money from insurance companies. Switched from Republican to Democrat in 2018.
Sources: News From the States, Campaign site, Wikipedia
Daniel Hawkins
Not good people RepublicanWants to regulate the industry that paid him: his disclosures show income last year from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, UnitedHealthcare and Delta Dental. Running as a pro-Trump conservative against Medicaid expansion.
Sources: KCUR
Ric Koehn
Not enough info LibertarianHas no campaign website and didn't answer news outlets' questions about his platform.
Sources: KCUR
Constitutional amendment and judicial retention
PropositionsWe describe these and don't make recommendations.
- Citizenship voting amendment: The Kansas Constitution now says every U.S. citizen 18 or older who lives in the voting area is a qualified voter. The amendment rewrites that to say no one is a qualified voter unless they are a U.S. citizen, 18 or older, and live in the voting area. A yes vote adds that wording; a no vote leaves the constitution as it is.
- Judicial retention: Yes or no on keeping Supreme Court Justices Eric S. Rosen and Larkin E. Walsh, and Court of Appeals Judges Lesley Ann Isherwood, Amy Fellows Cline, Kim R. Schroeder, Lori Ann Bolton Fleming and Jacy Hurst. We haven't profiled judges yet.
U.S. Representative, District 2
Vote for oneDon Coover
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on lower costs for health care, food and housing, keeping rural hospitals and Medicaid, and a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks. We found little else on him.
Sources: The Ballot Brief
Derek Schmidt
Not good people RepublicanAs attorney general in December 2020 he joined Texas's lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to throw out the presidential results in four states. He has campaigned on Trump's America First agenda, and Trump has endorsed him before.
Sources: Newsweek, House website, Kansas Public Radio
John Hauer
Not enough info LibertarianGot about 5 percent as the Libertarian nominee in 2024. Takes no donations and wants to end the federal income tax and close every U.S. military base abroad.
Sources: The Ballot Brief, Kansas Public Radio
State Board of Education, District 1
Vote for oneJennifer Lloyd
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratA former general and special education teacher who wants the state to fully fund special education, which she says is "causing so much crisis" in public schools.
Sources: Campaign site, Kansas Reflector via News From the States
Amy Cawvey
Compromised ConservativePushed through a "Parents' Bill of Rights" policy on the Lansing board in 2022 and wants audits before any more special education money. Endorsed by the conservative 1776 Project PAC.
Sources: Campaign site, The Sentinel, Kansas Reflector via News From the States, 1776 Project PAC
Kansas House District 52
Vote for oneToni Scalia
Not enough info (best choice in this race) DemocratLost this seat to Republican Brenda Dietrich in 2018 with 31 percent of the vote. We found no campaign site or stated positions this year.
Sources: Ballotpedia
Jesse Borjon
Not good people RepublicanVoted in February 2026 for SB 254, which bars undocumented immigrants from public benefits and ends their in-state tuition, and for the bathroom restrictions in SB 244. He did vote against printing citizenship status on driver's licenses, and is endorsed by Kansans for Life.
Sources: Kansas AFL-CIO scorecard, iVoterGuide, Wikipedia
Kansas House District 54
Vote for oneChris Tanner
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWas raised in a conservative home and once worked on Republican campaigns. Decided to run after watching his mother struggle with health care costs during cancer treatment, and backs Medicaid expansion.
Sources: Campaign site, Campaign site
Ken Corbet
Not good people RepublicanVoted in 2026 for SB 254, which bars undocumented immigrants from public benefits and ends their in-state tuition, and for printing citizenship status on driver's licenses. Endorsed by Kansans for Life and the Kansas Chamber PAC, and rated A+ by Americans for Prosperity.
Sources: Kansas AFL-CIO scorecard, iVoterGuide, Ballotpedia
Kansas House District 55
Vote for oneTobias Schlingensiepen
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratThe ranking Democrat on the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, and voted with the Kansas AFL-CIO on 61 of 67 key votes in 2025 and 2026. Endorsed by the Kansas NEA and the Farm Bureau's VOTE FBF.
Sources: Campaign site, Kansas AFL-CIO scorecard, KNEA, Ballotpedia
Lanell Griffith
Not enough info RepublicanIn January 2026 she testified for a presidential primary, saying the county Election Office's "rigorous security standards" beat what party volunteers can do at a caucus. We found no stated positions for this race.
Kansas House District 56
Vote for oneVirgil Weigel
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratVoted with the Kansas AFL-CIO on 58 of 67 key votes in 2025 and 2026, including against SB 254 and the bathroom bill. Endorsed by the Kansas NEA.
Sources: Kansas AFL-CIO scorecard, KNEA, Ballotpedia
Elvin Fajardo
Not enough info RepublicanLists his work as legislative staff and is his own campaign treasurer. We found no stated positions.
Sources: Civoren, Ballotpedia
Kansas House District 58
Vote for oneA rematch of 2024, when Simmons won with about 64 percent.
Alexis Simmons
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratVoted with the Kansas AFL-CIO on 66 of 67 key votes in 2025 and 2026 and missed the other. Runs on Medicaid expansion, affordable housing and school funding, and is endorsed by the Kansas NEA.
Sources: Kansas AFL-CIO scorecard, Campaign site, Wikipedia, KNEA
Michael H. Mathewson
Not good people RepublicanOn iVoterGuide he strongly agreed that children must be protected from "gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation" and that transgender women should be kept out of women's bathrooms, shelters and sports. Backs school vouchers.
Sources: iVoterGuide
Unopposed Kansas House seats
No contestDistrict 50 (Kyle McNorton, Republican), 53 (Kirk Haskins, Democrat) and 57 (John Alcala, Democrat).
More Kansas guides
Governor, statewide offices and ballot measures: Kansas statewide races.
- Johnson County: Overland Park, Olathe, Shawnee, Lenexa, Leawood, Prairie Village, Gardner
- Sedgwick County: Wichita, Derby, Haysville, Park City, Bel Aire, Valley Center, Maize, Goddard, Mulvane
- Wyandotte County: Kansas City, Bonner Springs, Edwardsville
- Douglas County: Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City, Lecompton