Petty Leads Holmes, Provisional Ballots Left To Count

A local school board member and county Republican chairman is seven votes ahead of a veteran state House member in a GOP primary in southwest Kansas.

Final, unofficial results from the 125th District had challenger Reid Petty, of Liberal, winning over state Rep. Carl Dean Holmes, also of Liberal. The count Tuesday night was 882 for Petty to 874 for Holmes, but local officials hadn’t certified the results.

Holmes has held his House seat since 1985 and is among the Legislature’s most senior members. He has gained national prominence in energy policy circles as chairman of the House Energy and Utilities Committee.

Petty has served on the Liberal Board of Education since April 2009 and has been Seward County Republican chairman since December 2010.