Wichita resident and Derby City Attorney Jacqueline Kelly won the only contested primary for Sedgwick County District Judge in Division 14 on Tuesday.
She defeated three other candidates – Clark V. Owens of Wichita, a former 18th Judicial District judge who was hoping to run for reelection; Jarrod Kieffer, a practicing attorney from Bel Aire; and Joshua Wright, a Reno County public defender who lives in Bel Aire.
According to the unofficial final results of the election, Kelly received 8,315 votes, Owens 6,232, Kieffers 5,006 and Wrights 1,895.
“Everyone was very strong in the race,” Kelly said after the results were announced late Tuesday. “It was a competitive race. I didn’t expect anything other than knowing that I had worked hard and that my supporters and volunteers had worked hard as well.”
Kelly now has a free hand to succeed retiring Judge Patrick Walters in Division 14. No Democrat has filed to run for the judgeship, so four Republican candidates are now vying for the post in the primary.
Kelly, 41, earned her law degree from Washburn University School of Law. She has also worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense, as a prosecutor in Sedgwick County and as a prosecutor for the city of Bel Aire.
She said people always told her she had the temperament to be a good judge.
Awaiting the results at a meeting with family members and campaign aides on Tuesday, Kelly said she has a clear idea of the kind of judge she wants to be.
“I think Sedgwick County deserves good judges, and that’s what I want to be,” she said. “I want to be a presence in the community and serve honorably as a judge. I am committed to following the law and being fair and impartial. That’s what Sedgwick County deserves.”
According to Sedgwick County election records, all candidates borrowed thousands of dollars for their campaigns. However, Kelly spent the least of her own money – $5,100 – but raised the most from other donors. She was also the only candidate to accept donations from corporations and nonprofits.
Kieffer donated the most to his campaign at $45,597, compared to Owens ($10,000) and Wright ($6,473).
Kieffer spent over $53,000 between Jan. 1 and July 25, more than three times as much as any of the other three candidates. Kelly spent $17,117, Wright $9,526 and Clark $3,181.
Kansans for Life, the state’s leading anti-abortion group, endorsed Kelly, Kiefer and Wright. Kelly was also endorsed by Culture Shield Action, the right-wing Christian organization run by Donna Lippoldt, which has said it wants to reshape the Kansas judiciary to ban abortion.
Owens, the only candidate who did not receive the KFL’s endorsement, presided over the trial of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller in 2007, among other things. As Sedgwick County district attorney, Clark brought charges at least three times for the death of an unborn fetus.
Nineteen candidates, all Republican incumbents, ran unopposed in the primary election for Sedgwick County judge: Phillip B. Journey, Eric R. Yost, Gregory D. Keith, Eric N. Williams, Christopher Magana, Bruce Brown, Quentin Pittman, Kevin Mark Smith, Chrystal Krier, Kellie E. Hogan, Stephen Joseph Ternes, Jeff Dewey, Deborah Hernandez Mitchell, William S. Woolley, Tyler J. Roush, Sean Hatfield, Jeff Goering, Jeff Syrios, Eric A. Commer.
