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Unofficial results decide winners in 2 tight Kansas races

Kobach for governor, Davids for House of Reps.
Posted at 6:30 AM, Aug 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-08 12:27:15-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas races were unofficially decided Wednesday morning after slow reporting in Johnson County extended counting late into the night.

The Johnson County Election Office released final unofficial results just before 8 a.m.

In the Republican race for governor, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach won over current Gov. Jeff Colyer by fewer than 200 votes. 

Courtesy of the Kansas Secretary of State's Office

Johnson County election officials told 41 Action News crews there are still about 5,000 mail-in ballots that need to be counted.

Colyer said in a statement those votes could still change the outcome of this election:

"Given the historically close margin of the current tabulation, the presence of thousands of as yet uncounted provisional ballots and the extraordinary problems with the count, particularly in Johnson County, this election remains too close to call.

In the 2014 primary, 6,333 provisional ballots were cast. The current margin is 0.06%. This is the equivalent of a 2 vote margin in a 5,000 vote race with hundreds of votes left to count.

We are committed to ensuring that every legal vote is counted accurately throughout the canvassing process."

President Donald Trump endorsed Kobach less than 24 hours before the election. Colyer had support from Kansas political legend Bob Dole.

Kobach will face Laura Kelly, who won the Democratic primary for Kansas governor in a landslide victory with more than 50 percent of the vote.

In the Democratic race for the 3rd District U.S. House of Representatives seat, Sharice Davids won over Brent Welder by 3 percent.

Courtesy of the Kansas Secretary of State's Office

Incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder won the Republican primary for the seat.

Click here to see a full list of election results in Kansas, and check kshb.com/politics for the latest updates.