Neelly had 1,622 votes and Steiben 1,597 after all precincts had reported. The unofficial results don’t include provisional ballots, which will be counted during the county canvass no later than Aug. 17.

Neelly, who has been in office since 2021, defeated Stieben in the 2022 primary by 37 votes (1,237-1,200).

Reynolds wins county commission race

Cody Reynolds will be the next Leavenworth County Commissioner for the Fifth District.

Reynolds led the three-person primary with 1,037 votes or 47% of the vote. Tim Kates had 670 (30%) and David Todd 506 (23%).

Joining Reynolds will be Sarah George in the Fourth District and Janet Klasinski in the First District. George had 796 votes (58%) to Tony McNeil’s 588 (42%). In the First District Klasinksi had 665 votes (47%), Robert Owens had 447 (31%) and Lynn Looney 317 (22%).

Reynolds will replace Stieben, who opted not to run again for county commission so he could run for state representative. George will replace Mike Smith, who did not seek re-election so he could run for lieutenant governor alongside Stacy Rogers for Governor in the Republican primary. The bid was unsuccessful, as Ty Masterson and Jeffrey Klemp won the Republican primary for governor and lieutenant governor.

In the Fifth District, Jeff Culbertson also did not seek re-election.

‘No’ vote wins constitutional amendment question

Kansas will continue its system of selecting Supreme Court judges.

The “no” vote won with 62% Tuesday.

In total, 349,742 voted against the constitutional amendment that would have required judges to run for their seats on the court every six years. Currently, a nine-person nonpartisan commission selects three finalists when a seat opens and then the governor makes a pick from that field. Voters currently decide whether judges should be retained a year after they are appointed and every six years thereafter. Statewide, 227,029 voted for the amendment.