The race for Kansas governor shaping up 

Sen. Cindy Holscher won the Democratic nomination for Kansas governor by running well to the left of the party’s usual playbook. Now she faces Republican Ty Masterson, who’s making the case that she’s too extreme for a state that’s elected moderate Democrats before.

President Donald Trump-endorsed Senate President Masterson won the Republican nomination with 43.2% of the vote, with runner-up Philip Sarnecki trailing behind with 22.4%. Holscher won the Democratic nomination with 48.6% of the vote, defeating Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s endorsed candidate Sen. Ethan Corson, who got 38.8%.

Even though the outgoing Kelly – who is term-limited – didn’t give Holscher her endorsement initially, she quickly transferred it after the primary last week. Kelly said her main reason for finally endorsing Holscher was to ensure Masterson’s defeat.

“We need a leader who will bring people together to make life better for Kansas families, not one who will sow division and chaos while pushing an extreme agenda,” she said. “That is why I’m supporting Cindy Holscher to be our next governor.”

Holscher is also endorsed by Planned Parenthood Great Plains.

Even though Kansas is a red state, it has a history of electing Democrat governors. Washburn University Political Science Lecturer Bill Fiander notes the second largest group of voters in Kansas is comprised of those unaffiliated with a political party, so if a candidate can walk the tightrope of not leaning too far left or too far right, they can successfully get votes. This is what happened with Kelly and former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, both Democrats, he said.

“The big difference from Gov. Kelly’s past two wins was that she was a ‘middle-of-the-road’ candidate facing far-right conservatives with higher unfavorables,” Fiander wrote in a statement to Heartlander News. “She sprinkled in enough traditional Republicans and a good majority of independents with a very solid Democratic base.”

However, both Masterson and Holscher have been deemed “extreme” by the other side.

“Our state cannot afford another extremist like Ty Masterson,” Holscher wrote in one of several social media posts directed at Masterson.

“Cindy Holscher would be the most radical progressive governor in the history of Kansas,” Masterson fired off in a statement of his own. “I serve with Cindy Holscher in the State Senate, and I’ve seen first-hand just how far to the left she is.”

Masterson and others have pointed out that Kelly backed Corson because he stayed in the middle, while the governor believed Holscher was too far left.

Holscher’s former statement that she has “no idea if Jesus was trans, gay, straight” has resurfaced, for example, bringing a new round of criticism.

“She mocked Jesus Christ to defend drag shows for kids, and she’s so out of touch, that she doesn’t understand why most Kansans find that offensive,” Masterson wrote on X. “That’s not your parents’ Democrat, that’s the most radical liberal nominee in Kansas history.”

As far as Holscher’s policies go, she says she’s focused on cutting property taxes, establishing a moratorium on data centers and advocating for the working class against corporations. Holscher’s running mate for lieutenant governor is Rep. KC Ohaebosim.

Masterson says he’s fighting to lower state taxes, strengthen reading and math proficiency in schools and to preserve Kansas values above “wokeness,” and his lieutenant governor running mate is Sen. Jeff Klemp. 

The race could be close. Fiander suspects Holscher won the primary because she’s been painted as more progressive than Corson, and Democrats must believe she has a better chance of beating Masterson.

“She’s charting a whole new formula for success if she wins,” he said. “I compared it to not bringing a knife to a gun fight. The knife being Corson.

“The situation appears that dire for Democrats. We’ll see if the new formula pays off.”