Rep. Steven Johnson declares victory in Republican treasurer primary, though recount still looms

Rep. Steven Johnson declared victory in the razor-thin Republican primary race for state treasurer, though a recount requested by opponent Sen. Caryn Tyson looms.

After over a week of seeing his lead fluctuate due to the canvassing process throughout much of the state, Johnson was handed a boost Monday as the three largest counties in the state adjudicated provisional ballots and certified their results.

Johnson, Sedgwick and Shawnee counties all held their canvass Monday. Johnson saw his lead grow to over 400 votes after entering the day with a roughly 200-vote advantage over Tyson.

Three more counties — Riley, Ellsworth and Cherokee — certified results Tuesday, bringing his margin up to 475 votes.

"I want to thank my opponent for her willingness to run and for her continued service to this great state,” Johnson said in a statement. “I also want to thank my many volunteers and supporters who have been critical in winning a close race where every voter contact mattered. With our base of support, we are well-positioned to win the general election.”

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Johnson and Tyson were vying to face off with incumbent Democrat Lynn Rogers in the general election, as well as Libertarian candidate Steve Roberts.

Johnson's campaign said he has raised $100,000 for the general election in the weeks following the primary.

Tyson didn't immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment, but she told the Kansas City Star she didn't expect the impending recount to change the results of the race.

“We had a great team, a great ground game, my opponent put in $200,000 of his own money and lied about my voting record,” Tyson told the Star. “Obviously, we would have like to seen different results, but it’s just too bad.”

Observers expected the treasurer's race to be competitive, with both candidates going blow for blow in the runup to Election Day.

Johnson has based his campaign on his experience handling pensions and tax issues in the Legislature.

Tyson, meanwhile, has pointed to her work as chair of the Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation, and has called for giving the treasurer's office auditing power to probe agency spending.

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Recount looms in six Kansas counties on treasurer's race

Because the margin in the race was less than 1% after election night, it became the first instance where additional audits were conducted under a new state law passed earlier this year.

Counties compared a hand count with the machine tally in 10% of precincts.

Still, Tyson requested a recount on Friday in 55 counties where she said there was a discrepancy in the original total and the tally after the audit or there were other voting issues reported.

That request was paired back to just six counties Monday, with a full recount paid for in four counties and parts of two other counties.

Tyson requested the recount in all of Cloud, Harvey, McPherson and Ottawa counties, as well as advanced ballots in Dickinson County and advanced ballots in Barton County, as well as all votes cast in the city of Great Bend

The affected counties will have until Saturday to complete the recount, though at least one county — Cloud County — has completed their work as of Tuesday afternoon with no changes.

Because it only pertains to ballots cast in the Republican primary, it is a less expansive effort than a failed attempt at a recount of the abortion constitutional amendment vote would have been.

The expected cost is $2,570.54. Mark Skoglund, director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission said it was a "legitimate campaign expense" that could be covered by Tyson's campaign funds.

Michael McGraw, campaign manager for Rogers, said the recount was a poor use of money and that it "wasn't fair" to taxpayers or local election officials.

"This isn't how you do business in Kansas," he said.

Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Rep. Steven Johnson declares victory in Kansas treasurer's primary