James Thompson makes the ballot in Sedgwick County judge race after write-in campaign
Wichita civil-rights lawyer James Thompson has earned a place on the November ballot, Sedgwick County’s top election official said Thursday.
Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman made that announcement at a meeting of the county canvassing board, made up of county commissioners or in some cases, appointees to serve in their stead.
Thompson currently stands at 5,124 counted votes, Lehman said. That means she didn’t have to wait for the final counting of provisional and disputed ballots to say he’s claimed a spot in a district judge race in the November election.
Because of the high number of write-ins required to guarantee a spot on the ballot — 5,000 votes — “It was quite the feat,” Lehman said of the successful write-in campaign. “And it took us a long time to count them.”
Thompson, a Democrat, ended the primary election night on Aug. 4 apparently at least 300 short of the 5,000 write-in votes he needed to guarantee himself a spot on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
But late-arriving mail ballots pushed him over the top, Lehman said.
Under state law, mail votes postmarked on or before election day are counted if they arrive at the election office by the following Friday.
Thompson said he’ll immediately begin trying to get the word out on his campaign, fundraising and putting out yard signs.
“It should be exciting,” he said.
Thompson said he didn’t file to run because at the June 1 deadline, he was still recovering from cancer surgery earlier this year and planned to sit the election out.
By mid-July, he was feeling much better and decided to give it a go when supporters asked him to launch a write-in campaign, he said.
He said his cancer is slow-growing and manageable with treatment. “I should see my toddler walk down the aisle, my doctor says.”
In November, Thompson will face Judge Sean Hatfield, a Republican who was appointed to the bench in 2019 by former Gov. Jeff Colyer. They’re seeking election to Division 25 on the 18th District Court, which is contiguous with boundaries of Sedgwick County.
Hatfield said it’s fine by him that the voters will have a choice in November.
“There are great differences between Mr. Thompson and myself,” he said. “It’s important for voters to have a choice and I’m really looking forward to taking our message to the voters of Sedgwick County.”
He said those differences will come out during the campaign, but right now, he’s focused on being a judge.
“It’s important that I hear from every person and listen to every person that comes before me,” he said. “It’s something I take seriously every day and I’m going to continue to do that and that’s the message that I’m going to take to the voters. I’m here to listen and I’m here to do my job.”
Thompson is one of the Wichita area’s most popular and organized Democrats, after running twice unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Ron Estes.
His supporters, who call themselves the “Thompson Army,” have been a factor in several local races since his congressional campaigns in 2017 and 2018, including the elections of Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson and county Commissioner Lacey Cruse.
On Thursday, Cruse, who chairs the county election canvassing board, sent her congratulations to Thompson and endorsed his candidacy via social media.
“When I was considering running for office, I went to the James A. Thompson headquarters. I met with him and his INCREDIBLE army. That day, he encouraged me to run,” Cruse wrote on Facebook. “Now, I’m happy to support him (again). How amazing is it to pull off a write-in campaign and receive 5124 votes!”
Johnson, also the vice chairman of the state Democratic Party, said he’ll be active in the Thompson campaign.
“I’m really excited that James was able to qualify,” Johnson said. “I think James would be an excellent judge . . . being a civil rights attorney, I think that’s the kind of mindset we need on the bench.”
In the primary, only Democratic Party voters were allowed to cast a write-in vote in Division 25 because Republicans had a filed candidate, Hatfield.
And 49 Democrats wrote in Hatfield’s name on their ballots.
“There are some Democrats that don’t like me,” Thompson said. “And there are Republicans who wanted to vote for me and couldn’t. You can’t please everybody.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
