By Lucky Kidd
Incumbent 4th District Reno County Commissioner John Whitesel was defeated in his bid Tuesday for the Republican nomination for the final two years of a term he was appointed to after the person who won the 2022 election declined the position. Richard Winger took 60 percent of the vote to move to the general election where he will face Democrat Lindsey Hatfield.
Ron Vincent also took 60 percent of the vote in defeating Timothy Davies in the 3rd district where he’ll face Democrat Garth Strand in November to succeed retiring Commissioner Daniel Friesen. Incumbent 2nd District Commissioner Ron Hirst won a three-sided race over Melony Ball and Kenneth Nisly to retain his seat.
Rice County will have a new sheriff come January, as Nicholas Sowers defeated incumbent Bryant Evans 59 to 41 percent in Tuesday’s Republican Primary. Also losing a re-election bid in the primary was Harvey County Treasurer Becky Fields, who went down to Amy Perkins who received 79 percent of the vote. In the other Harvey County races, Terry Scott won the Commission District 2 primary over Lance Gormley and incumbent Don Schroeder defeated Kevin Pouch.
Kingman County Commissioner Jerry Henning was defeated in his re-election bid Tuesday by Julie Lyon, while incumbent Register of Deeds Susan Hubbell held off April Smith in the GOP primary. Also winning a contested primary was Stafford County Sheriff Robert Murrow who held off two challengers to gain renomination.
In Barton County, State Senator Alicia Straub’s bid to oust County Clerk Bev Schmeidler came up short as Schmeidler won re-nomination by a 2-1 margin. Barton County Register of Deeds Glennda French was defeated in her primary by Susan Williams. In the 20th Judicial District, which also includes Rice, Stafford, Ellsworth and Russell counties, Barton County Attorney Levi Morris defeated Ellinwood Attorney Donald Anderson II 58-42 percent to get the nomination for the Division 2 bench now held by retiring judge Steven Johnson.
Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez, who is a defendant in several lawsuits connected with last year’s raid on the Marion County Record, easily won re-nomination for a new term in Tuesday’s Republican primary, getting nearly 75 percent of the vote over challenger Travis Wilson.
3rd District Marion County Commissioner Randy Dalke lost a re-election bid to Claire Dirks, 184 votes to 152. Pending late mail ballots and provisional votes allowed, Dirks will face Democrat Randall Eitzen in the November General Election. Michael Beneke won the open 2nd district seat GOP nomination by a nearly 2-1 margin over Dianne Novak. In the other contested race Shelby Schroeder defeated Hannah Branson for Register of Deeds, where Rebecca Wingfield did not seek another term.
Senate-House Races
State Representative Michael Murphy of Sylvia won the Republican nomination for 34th District State Senate Tuesday, getting 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Hutchinson insurance executive Bob Fee.
Fee narrowly carried Reno County, but Murphy took 69 percent of the vote in Kingman County and 58 percent of the vote in Barber County to secure the nomination to face Democrat Shauna Henry of Cheney in November to succeed Senator Mark Steffen, who backed Murphy as his successor.
In the other State Senate Race in the area, State Representative Tory Marie Blew of Great Bend won the Republican nomination from the 33rd district by a nearly 2-1 margin over John Sturn of Ellinwood. Blew will face Democrat Matthew Westenfeld of Lyons in November.
In the two Kansas House races involving Reno County, Kyler Sweely took 58 percent of the vote to 42 for Tyson Thrall in the 102nd District, to advance to the general election against Rep. Jason Probst, the westernmost Democrat in the Kansas Legislature.
Kevin Schwerdtfeger won the GOP primary in the 114th District to succeed Rep. Murphy, getting 57 percent of the vote over Steve Schweizer. Schweizer carried the part of the district in Reno County, but Schwedtfeger won big in Kingman and especially Pratt County.
