2026 Kansas gubernatorial election

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2026 Kansas gubernatorial election
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November 3, 2026
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Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Governor

Laura Kelly
Democratic



The 2026 Kansas gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of Kansas. The primary elections will take place on August 4, 2026. [1] Incumbent Democratic governor Laura Kelly is term-limited and ineligible to seek a third consecutive term. This will be one of five Democratic-held governorships up for election in 2026 in a state that Donald Trump won in the 2024 presidential election and the only one of those states that Trump won by a double-digit margin.

Contents

Background

Despite Kansas consistently voting for Republican presidential nominees, Kelly won the open seat in 2018 with the help of a national "blue wave" in the 2018 midterms as well as the conclusion of the unpopular administration of Sam Brownback, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom in 2017. [2] Kelly won re-election in 2022 thanks in part to both her own personal popularity and the negative reaction to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the latter being particularly enhanced by the presence of an abortion referendum on the ballot a few months prior. [3] [4] Since her re-election, Kelly has seen a rise in personal popularity, and as of 2024 is one of the ten-most popular governors in the country, which some commentators have attributed to her frequent use of her veto powers and frequent travels across the state. [5] [6]

Despite Kelly's gubernatorial success, the Republican Party has historically been the dominant party in Kansas in federal and state politics. After the 2024 elections, Republicans maintained their 3-1 majority in Kansas’ U.S. House delegation. [7] Kansas has been represented in the U.S. Senate exclusively by Republicans since 1939. [8] Both branches of the Kansas Legislature also have Republican supermajorities. [9] Since 1957, neither major political party has held the Kansas governor's office for longer than two consecutive terms. [10]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Declined

Endorsements

Ethan Corson
State officials
Cindy Holscher
State officials

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Ethan
Corson		Cindy
Holscher		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [22] [b] January 8–9, 2026699 (V)–9%33%58%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Doug Billings
Executive branch officials
Individuals
Vicki Schmidt
Organizations

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [37] Lean R (flip)September 11, 2025
Inside Elections [38] TossupAugust 28, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [39] Lean R (flip)September 4, 2025
Race to the WH [40] Lean R (flip)January 12, 2026

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ↑ Sponsored by Holscher's campaign

References

  1. ↑ "2026 State Primary Election Dates". NCSL. May 9, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  2. ↑ Paul, Kari (November 7, 2018). "Kansas sees its own blue wave: 'If you can flip it here, you can flip it anywhere'". MarketWatch . Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ Bahl, Andrew. "National poll: More than half of residents approve of Gov. Laura Kelly's job performance". The Topeka Capital-Journal . Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ Hanna, John (November 9, 2022). "Abortion rights support helps Kansas Gov. Kelly win 2nd term". Associated Press . Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Report: Kansas gov. is one of the top 10 most popular in the nation". Yahoo News . April 23, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ A. O. L. Staff (May 4, 2024). "Are Gov. Laura Kelly's rising approval numbers because of her frequent use of veto powers?". www.aol.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ Mesa, Blaise (January 6, 2026). "Kansas Republicans don't have the votes for redistricting in 2026, house speaker says". npr Kansas City. Archived from the original on January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  8. ↑ Rudin, Ken (December 8, 2008). "Longest Losing Streaks In The Senate". npr . Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  9. ↑ Self, Matthew (December 3, 2024). "Kansas Republicans retain supermajority control in the state Legislature". ksnt.com . Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Ballotpedia - Kansas State Government". Ballotpedia . Archived from the original on November 2, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  11. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (July 22, 2025). "Kansas Sen. Ethan Corson enters race for Democratic Party's nomination for governor". Kansas Reflector . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  12. ↑ Shorman, Jonathan (June 12, 2025). "This Overland Park Democrat is launching a campaign for Kansas governor". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  13. ↑ Anderson, Phil; Baum, Jake (July 28, 2025). "Democrat Marty Tuley announces candidacy for 2026 Kansas governor". WIBW-TV .
  14. ↑ Cooper, Brad (October 15, 2025). "Davids opens door for statewide run if new congressional map is drawn". Sunflower State Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Cooper, Brad (January 3, 2025). "Eyes turning toward '26 governor's race" . Sunflower State Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ Ketz, Jonathan (July 4, 2025). "State Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes considers run for Kansas governor". KSNW . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  17. ↑ Kaminski, Anna (January 8, 2026). "Kansas Senate minority leader challenges GOP House speaker for state insurance commissioner". Kansas Reflector . Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  18. ↑ Alatidd, Jason (July 22, 2025). "Lt. Gov. David Toland isn't running for Kansas governor — or any other office". The Topeka Capital-Journal . Topeka, Kansas . Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Gov. Kelly endorses state senator Ethan Corson as he launches gubernatorial campaign". KAKE . July 22, 2025. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Corson wins lieutenant governor's endorsement | Sunflower State Journal". Sunflower State Journal. January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  21. ↑ Cooper, Brad (June 12, 2025). "Holscher announces run for governor" . Sunflower State Journal.
  22. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (January 15, 2026). "Early poll of Democratic primary race for Kansas governor reveals most voters undecided • Kansas Reflector". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  23. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (May 5, 2025). "Kansas podcaster seeks GOP gubernatorial nomination to copy Trump crusade at state level". Kansas Reflector . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  24. ↑ Robinson, Colter (May 14, 2025). "Dr. Jeff Colyer announces bid for Kansas governor". KSNT . Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  25. ↑ Owens, Barry (June 18, 2025). "Joy Eakins announces bid for Kansas governor". KSNW . Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  26. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (July 20, 2025). "Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson launches Republican campaign for governor". Kansas Reflector . Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  27. ↑ Hammill, Roxie (March 10, 2025). "Former JoCo commissioner Charlotte O'Hara announces bid for governor". Johnson County Post . Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  28. ↑ Burnett, Cameron (February 13, 2025). "Wichitan Stacy Rogers announces candidacy for Kansas Governor". KAKE . Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  29. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (September 2, 2025). "Johnson County businessman launches campaign to win GOP nomination for governor". Kansas Reflector . Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  30. ↑ Brunner, Melissa (July 9, 2025). "Schmidt jumps into Kansas Governor's race". WIBW-TV . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  31. ↑ Robinson, Colter (January 8, 2025). "Scott Schwab announces run for Kansas Governor". KSNT . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  32. ↑ Cooper, Brad (January 8, 2025). "UPDATED: Schwab first candidate to join 2026 governor's race" . Sunflower State Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  33. ↑ Hanna, John (April 18, 2024). "Kansas GOP congressman Jake LaTurner is not running again, citing family reasons". Associated Press . Retrieved September 29, 2024. [LaTurner said] also that he wouldn't seek any office in 2026. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited and Republicans had mentioned LaTurner as a possible candidate for the job that year.
  34. ↑ Cooper, Brad (April 30, 2025). "Rahjes planning to mount campaign for secretary of state" . Sunflower State Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  35. 1 2 3 "Gubernatorial election endorsements". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  36. ↑ Biddison, Jennifer (December 29, 2025). "Maggie's List Closes 2025 With Four More Endorsements". Maggie's List. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
  37. ↑ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  38. ↑ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections . Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  39. ↑ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
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