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The latest campaign finance reports show one incumbent candidate for County Commission trailing; Loomis Leads $50K DA Race | News, Sports, Vacancies

The latest campaign finance reports show one incumbent candidate for County Commission trailing; Loomis Leads K DA Race | News, Sports, Vacancies


photo author: Submitted

From left to right: Brad Chun, Shannon Reed.

The latest campaign finance reports have been released and they show one incumbent county commissioner trailing in the fundraising race while the gap between the two candidates for Douglas County District Attorney is more than $50,000.

Douglas County Commissioner Shannon Reed trails her opponent in the race for Douglas County District 2 in campaign donations. Reed collected $2,910 in donations during the reporting period from July 26 to Oct. 24, according to a required campaign finance report filed with Douglas County. Clerk’s office.

Reed’s opponent, Brad Chun, raised nearly double that amount during that period. Chun’s campaign has raised $5,714 in donations, records show.

However, Reed, a Democrat, had $5,417 in general campaign funds to spend during that period because she had money left in her campaign account from a fundraiser she held earlier for the August primary. Chun, running as an independent, entered the race only after the primary and therefore had no carryover funds.

Reed fell behind in the fundraising race during the primary, but that didn’t stop her from winning a landslide, 57% to 43%, over Lawrence City Commissioner Lisa Larsen.

Douglas County Commission District 2 includes North Lawrence, the eastern portion of the city around downtown, Grant Township and part of Wakarusa Township north of Lawrence.

The local race with the biggest difference in campaign money is the contest for Douglas County District Attorney. Democrat Dakota Loomis and Republican Mike Warner are competing to replace incumbent Democrat Suzanne Valdez, who lost her re-election bid in the primary.

A Republican has not held the position of district attorney in Douglas County for 20 years, and Warner will have to overcome a large financial disadvantage to take the seat in the Nov. 5 election.

Loomis raised $12,825 in his last reporting period, but because of leftover funds from his successful primary campaign, he had $54,092 to spend during that period.

Warner raised $2,675 in the final period, and although Warner did not have a primary opponent in August, he still had funds carried over from the previous campaign period, giving him $3,540 to spend during the final period.

Here are other details from campaign finance reports related to local races:

• County Commissioner Karen Willey, a Democrat, has built a significant campaign advantage over her Republican challenger Pam McDermott in the race to represent Douglas County Commission District 3.

During this period, Willie collected $11,592 in donations. Thanks to funds left over from previous campaigns, Willie had $14,605 ​​to spend during this period. During that period, McDermott raised $7,711. With cash balances, she had $10,124 to spend during this period.

District 3 includes west Lawrence, the city of Lecompton and all five townships: Willow Springs, Marion, Clinton, Kanwaka and Lecompton.

• The Republican is the leading fundraiser for the newly formed District 5 in Douglas County. However, the race is a broad three-way affair as the Libertarian candidate is also actively campaigning in the southern Douglas County district.

Republican Rich Lorenzo collected $6,137 in donations during that period. Thanks to carryover funds, he had $11,785 to spend during this period. That was a significant lead over Democrat Erica Anderson, who raised $3,736 in donations and had the same amount to spend. There’s a twist in the race, however, in how votes might be split, as Libertarian Kirsten Kuhn is raising funds at a faster pace than most third-party candidates. Kuhn collected $1,691 in donations and had $1,891 in cash on hand.

District 5 includes a small portion of south Lawrence, south Wakarusa Township, Baldwin City and Palmyra Township.

• The County Commission’s other new district, District 4 in eastern Douglas County, has less fundraising activity. Democrat Gene Dorsey raised $600 during that period and had $3,976 to spend. Republican Tim Bruce raised $500 during that period and had $500 to spend. Libertarian running mate Steven Jacob was not required to file a campaign finance report because he committed to spending and receiving less than $1,000 on the campaign.

District 4 includes a small portion of southeast Lawrence, Eudora and Eudora Township, as well as a small portion of Wakarusa Township, located between Grant Township and the eastern edge of Lawrence.

• In Kansas Senate District 3, current Republican Sen. Rick Kloos has a big cash advantage as he tries to win a seat in this redrawn district that now includes parts of west Lawrence. Kloos had $77,525 in donations and $118,589 to spend during the period. Democratic challenger Dena Sattler had $27,172 in donations and $43,865 to spend.

Senate District 3 includes a large portion of the Lawrence city limits west of Wakarusa Drive. It also includes areas east of Wakarusa Drive between Bob Billings Boulevard and Clinton Boulevard and west of Quail Creek Drive. The district also includes all of Osage County, parts of northern Franklin County and southeastern Shawnee County.

• In Kansas Senate District 2—Lawrence’s largest Senate district—Democratic incumbent Marcy Francisco has a large contribution lead over Republican challenger David Miller. Francisco had $35,366 in contributions and $77,050 to spend. David Miller had $13,120 to contribute and $14,220 to spend.

Senate District 2 covers almost all of Lawrence, except for parts of far western Lawrence and parts of northwest Lawrence.

• New Kansas Senate District 19, which includes parts of northwest Lawrence, is largely dominated by Democratic fundraising. With no incumbent in the race, Democrat Patrick Schmidt raised $49,693 in donations and had $84,311 to spend during this period after raising large sums during his primary campaign. Republican Tyler Wible collected $4,226 in donations and had $5,346 to spend.

In Lawrence, Senate District 19 covers the area north of Sixth Street, between Queens Road and Casold Drive. It also includes the Lecompton town limits and surrounding countryside. However, a significant portion of the county’s population lives in eastern Topeka.