Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Lesley Ann Isherwood will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot in a nonpartisan retention vote for Position 2.

Voters will decide whether to retain Isherwood on the appellate court. The ballot question is listed as "Retain Isherwood?" according to Ballotpedia.

Isherwood was last retained on Nov. 8, 2022, winning 69.3% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia. Her current term runs from January 2023 through January 2027.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Kansas Court of Appeals, Position 2 (retention)
  • Residence: Wichita, Kansas
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in English, Washburn University, 1995; juris doctor, Washburn University School of Law, 1998
  • Academic honors: Order of Barristers; best overall in the Moot Court Selection Process; editor, Family Law Quarterly; NONOSO Honor Society

Experience and public service

Governor Laura Kelly appointed Isherwood to the Court of Appeals on Feb. 18, 2021, to replace Judge Steve Leben, according to Ballotpedia. The Kansas State Senate confirmed her on March 23, 2021.

Before joining the bench, Isherwood spent more than two decades in the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office. She served as senior assistant district attorney from 1999 to 2021, arguing hundreds of cases before the Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court, according to the Kansas Courts website. She began her legal career as an associate attorney at Williams, Stroble, Malone, Mason & Ralph from 1998 to 1999.

Notable opinions listed by the Kansas Bar Association include Heritage Tractor, Inc. v. Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. (2024), Sajadi v. Kansas Board of Healing Arts (2021) and State v. Collins (2026, unpublished).

Isherwood received the Wichita Business Journal 40 Under 40 award in 2012, according to the Kansas Courts website.

Community involvement: Isherwood has served as a member of the Kansas Children's Service League since 2017 and Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland since 2012. She held board positions with the Junior League of Wichita from 2008 to 2011 and served on the board and as a leadership council mentor for Dress for Success from 2006 to 2012, according to the Kansas Courts website.

Professional memberships: Wichita Bar Association (current); Kansas County and District Attorneys Association and National District Attorneys Association (former).

This profile was compiled from public records, the Kansas Courts website, the Kansas Bar Association and Ballotpedia. No candidate questionnaire responses were available for this race. The Overland Park Chronicle provides candidate profiles as a public service ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.