TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Juror misconduct is being alleged in the trial of a man accused in the death of a Topeka woman and the wounding of her life partner. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports attorneys for Anceo Stovall filed a motion Tuesday saying a Shawnee County juror accessed an online news story about Stovall’s trial while the jury was deliberating. The attorneys say that violated the judge’s instructions and would be a basis for a new trial. The jury in late July could not reach verdicts on the nine of 11 charges against the 27-year-old Stovall, including first-degree murder in the…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The conservative chairman of the Kansas House’s pensions committee has ousted a veteran moderate state senator in a Republican primary race. Rep. Mitch Holmes of St. John received 53 percent of the vote Tuesday against Sen. Ruth Teichman, of Stafford, in the 33rd District of central and western Kansas. There is no Democratic candidate running. Holmes has been chairman of the pensions committee the past two years, when lawmakers approved legislation designed to improve the long-term financial health of the state pension system for teachers and government workers. However, Kansas stopped short of moving to a 401…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A conservative Kansas House member is leading Senate President Steve Morris in the state’s Republican primary. Rep. Larry Powell had almost 52 percent of the vote against Morris in final, unofficial results from Tuesday’s election in the 39th Senate District in southwestern Kansas. Powell’s lead came amid conservative victories in other races that moved them closer to controlling the Senate. Powell, from Garden City, is chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and has served in the House since 2001. Morris is a moderate Hugoton Republican who has served 20 years in the Senate. Campaign…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A conservative Kansas House member has succeeded in unseating a moderate state senator, the second time the two have faced off in a Republican primary in the Salina area. Freshman Rep. Tom Arpke received 56 percent of the vote Tuesday against Sen. Pete Brungardt in final, unofficial results from the 24th District. Both candidates are from Salina. Brungardt narrowly won a primary race against Arpke in 2008. Arpke, an energy consultant, was elected to the House in 2010. He served as treasurer that year of conservative Republican Kris Kobach’s successful campaign for secretary of state. Brungardt has…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A conservative Wichita City Council member has unseated the Kansas Senate Education Committee’s chairwoman in the state’s Republican primary. Michael O’Donnell defeated Sen. Jean Schodorf, a veteran moderate Republican, receiving 59 percent of the vote Tuesday in the 25th District. Schodorf has held the seat since 2001 and served 12 years on the Wichita school board. But O’Donnell had the backing of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and benefited from independent advertising by the anti-tax, small-government group Americans for Prosperity. O’Donnell was elected to the city council in 2011, and he also works as communications director for…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A local prosecutor who handled some of Wichita’s most notorious criminal cases has been chosen as the new Sedgwick County district attorney in a city that has become the center of the nation’s abortion battle. Deputy district attorney Marc Bennet’s victory over former assistant district attorney in the Republican primary Tuesday essentially makes him district attorney, since no Democrats are running. Both candidates are abortion opponents. Bennett took 54 percent of the vote over O’Connor, who had the backing of influential anti-abortion groups like Kansans for Life. Democrat Nola Foulston, an abortion rights supporter, is stepping down…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A retired Wichita school administrator has defeated a Kansas State Board of Education member in a Republican primary race. Kathy Busch had 61 percent of the vote against incumbent board member Walt Chappell in final, unofficial results from Tuesday’s election the 8th State Board District in Wichita. Busch had support from groups representing teachers, administrators and public employees, and she raised more campaign funds through late July. She’s a former assistant Wichita superintendent and principal. Chappell won the seat in 2008 as a Democrat but switched parties last year. He’s argued schools should be more accountable for…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The chairwoman of the Kansas Senate’s budget committee has won a Republican primary contest against a conservative challenger. Sen. Carolyn McGinn, of Sedgwick, received 55 percent of the vote against Park City businessman Gary Mason in final, unofficial results Tuesday in the Wichita-area 31st Senate District. McGinn has served in the Senate since 2005 and has been chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee for the past two years. She was among a dozen moderate GOP incumbents in the Senate targeted by conservatives and the powerful Kansas Chamber of Commerce. There are no Democrats or minor party…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Robert Tillman has won the Democratic primary for Kansas 4th District U.S. House seat, advancing to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Pompeo in November. Tillman, a retired court services officer from Wichita, received 71 percent of the vote to beat self-employed Wichita painter Esau Freeman, according to unofficial results Tuesday. Tillman failed at his first crack at the seat, losing the 2010 Democratic primary to state Rep. Raj Goyle. The 4th District centers on Wichita, the state’s largest city and home to several aviation manufacturers. Pompeo beat Goyle by a 59-36 percent margin in November 2010. He…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Topeka minister Tobias Schlingensiepen has won the Kansas Democratic primary for the right to challenge GOP incumbent Lynn Jenkins for her 2nd District U.S. House seat. Unofficial results Tuesday showed Schlingensiepen finished first ahead of Lawrence attorney Robert Eye and Ottawa farmer Scott Barnhart. None of the candidates had held elected office before, though Barnhart had previously sought state and county offices. The district covers much of eastern Kansas, including the cities of Topeka, Lawrence and Pittsburg, as well as Fort Leavenworth. Jenkins is seeking her third term in office, winning the seat in 2008 against Democratic…