Live election results: Who will win 2022 Johnson County commission primary elections?

Editor’s note: The election results graphics on this page will be updated by The Star as votes in Johnson County are reported. Check back here throughout the night to see the latest. Want to have results delivered to your inbox at the end of the night? Sign up for our free politics newsletter.

As longtime Johnson County Commission Chairman Ed Eilert prepares to step down, four candidates with widely different viewpoints are vying to replace him in a heated primary race.

Two of them were elected to the commission just two years ago: Charlotte O’Hara, an outspoken conservative, and Shirley Allenbrand, who is endorsed by Eilert and defeated conservative Mike Brown in 2020.

The other candidates: Roeland Park Mayor Mike Kelly, perhaps best known for his work combating climate change, and certified public accountant Ken Selzer, who, like O’Hara, questions the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

The top two vote-getters in the Tuesday primary will move on to the general election in November.

In addition, three commission seats are up for election this year, but only one, Michael Ashcraft’s 5th District seat, is contested in the primary.

Ashcraft is seeking reelection for a fourth time, and has been on the commission for as long as retiring chairman Eilert. His two opponents are Scott Callaway, a planning engineer, and Stephanie Suzanne Berland, a certified public accountant.

Commission chairman race results:

District 5 race results:

Kelly, O’Hara to compete in November general election

Updated: 10:15 p.m. Johnson County voters on Tuesday night selected Roeland Park Mayor Mike Kelly and Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara to advance toward the November general election in the race for outgoing Johnson County Commission Chairman Ed Eilert’s seat.

With all precincts reporting, Kelly outperformed his opponents on Tuesday night with a final showing of 91,558 votes, representing 37% of the ballots cast in the contest. O’Hara earned 62,192 votes, or 25%, beating fellow competitors Ken Selzer, 13%, and 6th District Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand, 15%.

In the 5th District race, Commissioner Michael Ashcraft was the top vote-getter with 15,200, or 41%. He will face challenger Stephanie Suzanne Berland, a certified public accountant and political newcomer, who came in second place with 9,665 votes, or 26%.

Results shared by the county on Tuesday reflected the unofficial tallies that have yet to be certified. Final counts were expected to change as mail-in ballots continued to be counted through Friday as long as they were postmarked on Election Day.

Majority of precincts reporting

Updated 9:40 p.m.: As most precincts around Johnson County tallied votes in the countywide contest for commission chair, Mike Kelly and Charlotte O’Hara were leading the pack of candidates and appeared poised to face one another in the November general election.

with 72% of precincts reporting, Kelly, the mayor of Roeland Park, was leading the pack with 80,753 votes to O’Hara’s 54,781. Coming in third and fourth were 6th District Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand followed by Ken Selzer, former Kansas insurance commissioner, with 29,050.

Also on the ballot was the primary race for the 5th District, represented by Commissioner Michael Ashcraft. Ashcraft led the primary contest with 12,868 votes followed by Stephanie Suzanne Berland with 7,908 and Scott Callaway with 5,437.

Kelly, O’Hara lead commission chair race in early voting

Updated 9 p.m.: Early results showed Kelly with 50,894 votes followed by O’Hara with 28,497. Candidates Shirley Allenbrand, the 6th District commissioner, garnered 17,925 and Ken Selzer was in fourth place with 15,509.

In the 5th District primary, incumbent Commissioner Michael Ashcraft was carrying 7,713, or 42%,of the 18,365 total votes cast. He was followed by Stephanie Suzanne Berland, with 4,502 votes, and Scott Callaway, with 3,967.

The first wave of results came in around 9 p.m. about two hours after polls officially closed across Kansas. It included early voting; none of the county’s 610 precincts had finished tabulating results.

Johnson County polls close

Updated 7 p.m. Early results from the Johnson County primary election were expected to be revealed shortly after polls closed across Kansas at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

County election officials say the first wave of results could be posted by as early as 7:30 p.m. Factors for the timeline included whether voters were still waiting in line at 7 p.m. to cast a ballot.

The first wave will include all advance votes cast. Turnout in the county, including through early voting, was expected to be high this year as roughly of 62,000 of 456,000 registered voters had already cast ballots as of Thursday.

The Star’s Maia Bond contributed to this report.