Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher has won the Kansas governor’s race, beating Kansas state Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican.
Holscher, who ran on a campaign of increasing public school funding, lowering property taxes, and expanding Medicaid, won 50.3 percent of the vote compared to Masterson’s 49.7 percent. The Associated Press called the race on Nov. 12.
Up until the final days of the election, Masterson and Holscher were within 2 percentage points of one another in polling. Masterson held a slight lead, with some predictions showing him with around a 65 percent chance of winning.
Current Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, was unable to seek another term because of term limits. However, in federal elections, Kansas has been largely Republican for decades.
Despite party differences, both candidates proposed deductions in homeowners’ property taxes and highlighted affordability concerns for Kansas voters.
Both focused on improving Kansas education, and both campaigned on attracting businesses and creating more jobs for Kansas.
According to recent polling, disapproval of President Donald Trump has alienated some in Kansas. Top among their concerns are higher prices and the war in Iran.
Trump carried the state in all three of his presidential campaigns, and took it with 57 percent of the vote in 2024.
Some Kansas Republicans seem to have rejected Trump’s sway over the party, and several told The Epoch Times that they switched their votes to Democrats in this election to avoid supporting the president.
Dennis, a voter from Overland Park who declined to share his last name, told The Epoch Times that he is a Republican, but voted for Democrats in both the Senate and governor’s races.
“I’ve been voting Democratic ever since Trump was elected,” Dennis said. “I’m a Bob Dole, Dwight Eisenhower Republican, not a Trumper.”
When asked if he was aware of the shift by his state to the left, Dennis said he believes it’s attributable to dislike of Trump’s policies.
Kelly’s wins in 2018 and 2024 seem to show a path for Democrats to take the state in a Democratic direction. However, in 2020 and 2024, former President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris each only carried the same five counties, among them, the largest in the state: Johnson and Shawnee.
Johnson County voter Deborah Brand is a registered Republican and former Republican committee chairperson, but she has voted largely for Democrats since Trump’s election.
She said she voted for Democrats in the gubernatorial and Senate elections this year because she felt the state “needs checks and balances” that it doesn’t currently have.
However, she said she doesn’t believe that the state’s swing to the left is necessarily permanent.
“Kansas has always been very Republican. I think if there were a decent candidate, they would remain Republican,” she said.
