Kansas Governor Race

2026 Election • Open Seat (Term Limited)
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Primary

Democratic Primary

Held August 4, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Cindy Holscher 109,360 48.8%
Ethan Corson 86,554 38.7%
Curt Skoog 28,002 12.5%

Republican Primary

Held August 4, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Ty Masterson 147,167 54.5%
Philip Sarnecki 76,304 28.2%
Vicki Schmidt 46,690 17.3%
Charlotte O'Hara

Full calendar and every race: Kansas primary guide

Race Overview

Incumbent
OPEN (Laura Kelly)
Party
Democrat
Open Seat
Yes
Current Rating
Toss-up our polls experts: Lean R
Term Limited
Yes
Polls
1 polls

PollingSource Rating

Toss-up
Our polling average D+1.0 · 1 polls

General Election Polling Trend

PollingSource average — trailing average of all polls from the last 30 days.

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Expert Ratings

Expert Consensus Rating

Lean R

Individual forecaster ratings will be updated as they become available.

Candidates

Cindy Holscher

Cindy Holscher Nominee

Democrat

Ty Masterson Nominee

Republican

General Election Polling Average

Democrat
47.0%
Republican
46.0%
Margin
D+1.0
Last Poll
Aug 16, 2026

Average reflects all polls from the last 30 days; table shows the most recent 30 days or the newest 3 polls, whichever is more. How accurate is each pollster? →

PollsterDateSampleMoEDemRep
Global Strategy Group (D) partisan·D 2026-08-16 600 LV ±4.00 Cindy Holscher 47.00% Ty Masterson 46.00%

Questions About This Race

Who is winning the 2026 Kansas governor's race?

Cindy Holscher leads Ty Masterson 47% to 46% in the PollingSource polling average — a D+1.0 margin based on 1 poll from the last 30 days.

Is the 2026 Kansas governor's race competitive?

Yes — the PollingSource polling average rates this race a Toss-up, the most competitive category.

What does the latest poll of the 2026 Kansas governor's race say?

The most recent public poll, from Global Strategy Group (D) (completed August 16, 2026), found Cindy Holscher (D) at 47% and Ty Masterson (R) at 46%.

When is the 2026 Kansas governor's race decided?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

How is the PollingSource average calculated?

The PollingSource average is the unweighted mean of every scientific public poll of the race from the last 30 days — we do not exclude pollsters. Each race page lists the individual polls behind the average with pollster, field dates, sample size, and margin of error. Full details: pollingsource.com/methodology.

Race Notes

Term-limited, open seat in red state

Race News