A nonpartisan voter resource

Your Thomas County election guide

The practical stuff, the full ballot lineup and direct links to the candidates - all gathered in one place and written like a neighbor is explaining it.

Published October 14, 2026Election Day: November 3

Thomas County 2026 General Election: Tuesday, November 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Colby Event Center, 1200 S. Franklin Ave., Colby. Featured sponsor: Farmers & Merchants Bank of Colby. — Thomas County 2026 General Election information with featured sponsor Farmers & Merchants Bank of Colby.

Election DayTuesday, Nov. 3

Polls open7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Countywide siteColby Event Center

RememberBring photo ID

Start here

Make your voting plan

Thomas County makes Election Day wonderfully simple: every precinct votes at the same location. Early voters have two options.

By mail

Advance voting by mail begins Wednesday, October 14. Call the County Clerk at 785-460-4500 or email kmariman@thomascountyks.gov for an application.

Early in person

Begins Monday, October 19, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Thomas County Courthouse, 300 N. Court Ave. It ends Monday, November 2, at noon.

On Election Day

Vote Tuesday, November 3, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Colby Event Center, 1200 S. Franklin Ave.

Before you go

Bring photo ID. Read through the races below, including retention questions and the City of Gem question if it appears on your ballot.

Official ballot wins. This page is an informational, nonpartisan summary. If anything here differs from the ballot you receive, follow the official ballot and contact the County Clerk with questions.

National offices

Federal races

Candidate descriptions below summarize what campaigns say on their own websites. They are not endorsements or independent fact-checks.

United States Senate

Vote for one

Democratic

Adam Hamilton

His campaign describes him as a fifth-generation Kansan and highlights lowering costs, protecting health care and listening to Kansans.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Roger Marshall

His campaign presents him as the incumbent senator and highlights agriculture, border security, health care, veterans and fiscal issues.

Official campaign site ↗

Libertarian

David C. Graham

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Libertarian nominee.

No clearly identifiable official campaign website was found during preparation.

U.S. House - Kansas 1st District

Vote for one

Democratic

Lauren Reinhold

Her campaign focuses on rural economic recovery, rural health care, agriculture, worker rights, government integrity, immigration reform and Social Security.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Tracey Mann

His campaign describes him as a fifth-generation Kansan and highlights agriculture, energy, veterans, border security and rural communities.

Official campaign site ↗

Libertarian

Steven Jacob

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Libertarian nominee.

Facebook campaign site ↗

Kansas offices

Statewide races

Governor & lieutenant governor

Vote for one pair

Democratic

Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim

Their campaign highlights cost of living, working families, property taxes and a pause on new data centers until guardrails are in place.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Ty Masterson / Jeffrey Klemp

Their campaign highlights property-tax limits, utility-rate protections, lower taxes, public safety and affordability.

Official campaign site ↗

Secretary of State

Vote for one

Democratic

Jennifer Day

Her campaign emphasizes protecting elections and making it easier to start and operate a Kansas business.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Pat Proctor

His campaign centers on election administration, business services and Kansas civic institutions.

Official campaign site ↗

United Kansas

Scott E. Morgan

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the United Kansas nominee.

Facebook campaign site ↗

Attorney General

Vote for one

Democratic

Chris Mann

His campaign says he served as a police officer and prosecutor and frames the job around serving and protecting Kansas communities.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Kris Kobach

His campaign emphasizes crime, fentanyl enforcement, federal litigation, restitution and settlements. These are campaign claims.

Official campaign site ↗

State Treasurer

Vote for one

Democratic

Juan C. Luengo

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Democratic nominee.

No clearly identifiable official campaign website was found during preparation.

Republican

Steven Johnson

His campaign presents him as the incumbent and emphasizes efficiency, financial stewardship, banking, investment and cash management.

Official campaign site ↗

Libertarian

Eric Lund

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Libertarian nominee.

No clearly identifiable official campaign website was found during preparation.

Commissioner of Insurance

Vote for one

Democratic

Dinah Sykes

Her campaign emphasizes affordability, consumer protection, transparency and fairness in insurance.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Daniel Hawkins

His campaign emphasizes lower costs, transparency, prompt claims, fraud enforcement and more insurer competition.

Official campaign site ↗

Libertarian

Ric Koehn

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Libertarian nominee.

No clearly identifiable official campaign website was found during preparation.

District offices

Your western Kansas races

Kansas House - District 120

Vote for one

Republican

Adam Smith

His campaign says government should provide essential services at a fair tax rate and use tax dollars efficiently.

Official campaign site ↗

State Board of Education - District 5

Vote for one

Democratic

Lorie Wood

Her campaign describes her as a 30-plus-year educator and emphasizes rural schools, teachers, student support, literacy and math.

Official campaign site ↗

Republican

Jean Clifford

Listed in the Thomas County notice as the Republican nominee.

Facebook campaign site ↗

County & township

The local ballot

These names and party labels come directly from the County Clerk's notice. Candidate profiles were not added because our website-only research rule applies to the national and state contests above.

County Commissioner - District 1

Vote for one

Brad Flipse - Republican

Township clerks

Vote for one in your township

Township	Candidate	Party
Barrett	Jarrett L. Carpenter	Republican
East Hale	Jessica L. McCoy	Republican
West Hale	Jesse Crumrine	Republican
Kingery	Wayne Luckert	Republican
Lacey	Pete Ziegelmeier II	Republican
Summers	Shannon Hopson	Republican
North Randall	George Schippers	Republican
Menlo	James J. Steiger	Republican
South Randall	Gary Ostmeyer	Republican
Morgan	Becky L. Dempewolf	Republican
Rovohl	Norman Shull	Republican
Wendell	Amanda Focke	Republican
Smith	Kyle Spresser	Republican

Only one name? You may vote for that candidate or leave the contest blank. A blank in one contest does not cancel your votes in the others.

Yes-or-no choices

Judicial retention & the Gem question

A yes vote keeps a justice or judge in office. A no vote does not retain that person.

Kansas Supreme Court

Eric S. Rosen - Position 4
Larkin E. Walsh - Position 6

Kansas Court of Appeals

Lesley Ann Isherwood - Position 2
Amy Fellows Cline - Position 3
Kim R. Schroeder - Position 5
Lori Ann Bolton Fleming - Position 7
Jacy Hurst - Position 13

For official background and performance information, visit the Kansas Judicial Branch retention page ↗.

Special question for City of Gem voters

The question asks whether Gem should eliminate its tax on gross earnings from money, notes and other evidence of debt, and be allowed to levy additional property taxes as needed to replace that revenue.

Plain English: remove one kind of city tax and permit property-tax revenue to make up the difference. This is only a summary; read the exact wording on your ballot.

Before you head out

Quick questions

Where does everyone vote on Election Day?

All Thomas County precincts vote at the Colby Event Center, 1200 S. Franklin Ave., Colby.

What time are the polls open?

7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Where is early in-person voting?

Thomas County Courthouse, 300 N. Court Ave., Colby. It begins October 19 and ends at noon November 2.

Who can answer an official election question?

The Thomas County Clerk's office: 785-460-4500 or kmariman@thomascountyks.gov.

Receipts included

Sources & transparency

Ballot names, parties, voting details, judicial questions and the Gem question come from the Thomas County Clerk's official 2026 general-election notice. Candidate descriptions come only from the candidates' official campaign sites and summarize how the campaigns describe themselves.

What we did not do: Where no clearly identifiable official campaign website was found, we did not substitute news stories, party profiles, voter-guide answers or social-media posts. Websites can change; follow the direct links for the latest campaign wording.