Jacqueline Kelly wins only competitive primary for Sedgwick County district judge

Wichita resident and Derby city attorney Jacqueline Kelly was the winner of Tuesday’s only competitive Sedgwick County District Court judge primary — in Division 14.

She beat out three other candidates — Clark V. Owens of Wichita, a former 18th Judicial District judge who hoped to reclaim a seat on the bench; Jarrod Kieffer, a private-practice lawyer from Bel Aire; and Joshua Wright, a Reno County public defender who lives in Bel Aire.

According to unofficial final election results, Kelly earned 8,315 votes to Owens’ 6,232, Kieffer’s 5,006 and Wright’s 1,895.

“It was a pretty strong race run by everybody,” Kelly said after the results were announced late Tuesday. “It was a contentious race. I did not expect anything other than I knew I had worked hard and had my supporters and volunteers working hard as well.”

Kelly now will have a clear path to replacing retiring Judge Patrick Walters in Division 14. No Democrats filed to run for the judgeship, leaving it up to four Republican candidates to fight it out in the primary.

Kelly, 41, earned her law degree from Washburn University School of Law. She’s also worked as a Department of Defense contractor, a Sedgwick County prosecutor, and as city attorney for the City of Bel Aire.

She said people have always told her that she had the temperament to make a good judge.

Kelly awaited results at a gathering on Tuesday with family members and campaign volunteers. She said she has a clear vision about the kind of judge she wants to be.

“I think Sedgwick County deserves good judges and I want to be that,” she said. “I want to be present in the community and serve honorably on the bench. I’m committed to following the law and being fair and impartial. That’s what Sedgwick County deserves.”

All candidates loaned thousands of dollars to their campaigns, Sedgwick County election records show, but Kelly spent the least of her own money — $5,100 — but raised the most money from other contributors. She also was the only candidate to accept donations from businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Kieffer gave the most to his campaign — $45,597 — compared to $10,000 for Owens and $6,473 for Wright.

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 activist group, endorsed Kelly, Kiefer and Wright. Kelly also was endorsed by Culture Shield Action, the Christian-right organization run by Donna Lippoldt, who has said she wants to reshape the Kansas judiciary to ban abortion.

Owens, the only candidate to miss out on the KFL endorsement, has a track record that includes overseeing the trial of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller in 2007. On at least three separate occasions as Sedgwick County district attorney, Clark filed criminal charges in the death of an unborn fetus.

Nineteen candidates, all Republican incumbents, ran unopposed in Sedgwick County judicial primaries: 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.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 7:42 PM.