Saline County Turnout Climbs to 29% as Governor’s Race and Constitutional Amendment Draw Local Interest
Saline County voter turnout reached approximately 29% in Tuesday’s primary election, exceeding participation in several recent local and primary elections.
Jamie Doss, Saline County clerk and election officer, told Salina311 that turnout is normally around 22%. Doss said the constitutional amendment and several contested races, particularly the races for governor, helped increase voter participation.
Unofficial election-night results show 11,279 ballots were cast in Saline County. That included 8,209 ballots cast on Election Day, 2,464 early ballots and 606 advance ballots.
Republican voters cast 7,240 ballots, while Democratic voters cast 2,899. Another 1,140 people cast nonpartisan ballots, representing approximately 10% of all ballots submitted.
Governor’s race included a Salina connection
The Democratic primary for governor included former Salina Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Renee Duxler, who ran for lieutenant governor alongside gubernatorial candidate Ethan Corson. Duxler previously led the Chamber after joining the organization in 2020 and becoming its full-time president and CEO in 2024.
Corson and Duxler performed considerably better in Saline County than they did statewide.
The ticket received 1,456 votes in Saline County, finishing first with approximately 52% of the county’s Democratic gubernatorial vote. Cindy Holscher and KC Ohaebosim received 1,141 votes, while Curt Skoog and Jennifer Bacani McKenney received 206.
Corson and Duxler carried Saline County by 315 votes.
Statewide, however, Corson and Duxler finished second. Holscher and Ohaebosim won the Democratic nomination with approximately 49% of the vote. Corson and Duxler received approximately 39%, while Skoog and McKenney finished third with about 13%.
Holscher and Ohaebosim will face Republican nominees Ty Masterson and Jeffrey Klemp in the November general election.
The Saline County results gave local voters a direct connection to one of the election’s most prominent statewide contests, even though the locally connected ticket did not advance.
Turnout exceeds recent local elections
Tuesday’s participation was significantly higher than turnout in the 2024 primary, when 4,090 of 24,482 eligible voters cast ballots, producing a turnout rate of 16.71%.
The 2026 primary drew 7,189 more voters than the 2024 primary and increased turnout by approximately 12 percentage points.
Turnout was also higher than the county’s two most recent city and school general elections:
Election Ballots cast Turnout
2023 city and school general election 6,470 17.89%
2024 primary election 4,090 16.71%
2025 city and school general election 8,304 22.01%
2026 primary election 11,279 Approximately 29%
The 2023 election drew 6,470 voters from 36,164 registered voters. The 2025 election drew 8,304 voters from 37,736 registered voters, closely matching the 22% turnout Doss described as normal.
Although primary elections and city and school elections feature different offices and eligible voters, the figures provide context for the unusually strong participation recorded Tuesday.
The 2026 results remain unofficial until the county canvass is completed.