Recount confirms Steven Johnson defeats Caryn Tyson in tight Kansas treasurer primary

State Rep. Steven Johnson is still the Republican nominee for Kansas treasurer, a recount in six counties confirmed Friday.

Johnson, who was always ahead in the count, finished with 475 votes ahead of state Sen. Caryn Tyson after all 105 counties had certified their results Tuesday.

But Tyson put up a $2,500 bond for a full hand recount in four Kansas counties and a partial recount in two.

The counties — Barton, Cloud, Dickinson, Harvey, McPherson and Ottawa — completed the recount by Friday. At the end of the recount, Johnson had lost a net total of one vote and Tyson had also lost a net total of one vote, according to voting data from Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s Office.

Barton, Ottawa and Cloud counties recorded no vote changes. McPherson County had the biggest change, with the recount resulting in eight additional votes for Johnson and three additional votes for Tyson.

Johnson, an Assaria farmer who was first elected to the Kansas House in 2010, will take on incumbent Democratic Treasurer Lynn Rogers in November.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Rogers, her lieutenant governor at the time, to the treasurer’s post after Republican Jake LaTurner was elected to the U.S. House in 2020. Rogers’ tenure as treasurer officially began in January of 2021.

In a statement J.R. Claeys, a campaign consultant for Johnson, noted that Johnson had continued to fundraise as the recount continued.

“Steven Johnson was the winner on Election night and we haven’t seen that lead change throughout the process of counting every legally cast ballot,” Claeys said. “Republicans are uniting behind the winners of some tough primaries that will result in Republican victories in the fall.”

Tyson’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A recount on the Kansas abortion amendment will conclude Saturday when Sedgwick and Johnson counties, the state’s two largest, hold canvass meetings to approve their recount results.

The abortion recount is virtually guaranteed to fail in changing the landslide victory for abortion rights after 59 % of voters the amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion under the state constitution.