Amy Diediker, a Democrat and former music teacher from Olathe, won the Kansas State Board of Education District 3 seat on Nov. 3 with 55% of the vote, flipping a Republican-held position.

Unofficial results with all 4,168 precincts reporting statewide show Diediker defeated Republican Jim McMullen by roughly 14,000 votes. The Kansas Secretary of State's results page was last updated at 11:15 a.m. Nov. 5.

Candidate

Party

Votes

Pct.

Amy Diediker

D

74,482

55%

Jim McMullen

R

60,568

45%

Source: Unofficial results via Johnson County Post, including Johnson and Miami county totals. Results do not include provisional ballots.

These results remain unofficial. Provisional ballots will be counted during the county canvass no later than Nov. 16. The State Board of Canvassers must certify the results by Dec. 1, according to the Secretary of State's office.

The seat had been held by Republican Michelle Dombrosky since 2019. Dombrosky did not run for reelection after she campaigned as the lieutenant governor candidate for GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlotte O'Hara, the Johnson County Post reported.

The result shifts the 10-member board's makeup to four Democrats and six Republicans, according to the Kansas Reflector. Republicans retain majority control. Diediker was the only Democrat elected among the five open seats on the board.

District 3 covers southern Johnson County and northern Miami County, representing the Blue Valley, Gardner Edgerton, Olathe and Spring Hill school districts in Johnson County, according to the Johnson County Post.

Diediker had never held or run for public office before this race, the Kansas Reflector reported. She began her career teaching middle and high school choir in Abilene, then spent seven years as an elementary music teacher in Junction City and the De Soto School District, according to her candidate questionnaire. She later became a community volunteer and precinct leader for the Johnson County Democrats.

She told the Kansas Reflector that voters responded to her support for public schools.

"I think people were ready for a champion for public education and someone who would be a fierce supporter of public schools," she said.

McMullen, a Johnson County attorney from Overland Park, served on the Blue Valley School Board from 2021 until he lost reelection in 2025. The Blue Valley board stripped his vice president role in 2022 over social media posts about transgender issues, the Kansas Reflector reported.

Diediker will take the seat in January, according to the Johnson County Post. Four Republicans won the remaining open seats on the board.