2026 Kansas gubernatorial election

Last updated

2026 Kansas gubernatorial election
Flag of Kansas.svg
←  2022 November 3, 20262030 →
 
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. Incumbent Democratic governor Laura Kelly is term-limited and ineligible to seek a third consecutive term.

Contents

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. [1] 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. [2] [3] She was also possibly aided by the presence of a conservative independent candidate, Dennis Pyle, on the ballot, who received about 2% of the vote. 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. [4] [5] For this reason, Kansas' gubernatorial seat is not expected to be an automatic Republican flip in this election. However, the Republican Party of Kansas has for a long time been the dominant party in the state of Kansas, holding 7 of 8 seats in Kansas' congressional delegation as well as a supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Potential

Republican primary

Candidates

Potential

Declined

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas Republican Party</span> Kansas affiliate of the Republican Party

The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Wagle</span> American politician from Kansas (born 1953)

Susan Wagle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 30th district from 2001 to 2021. She was elected Kansas Senate President in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. She is the first woman to hold this position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas Democratic Party</span> Political party in Kansas

The Kansas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Kansas and one of two major parties in the state, alongside the Republicans. The chair of the party is Jeanna Repass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Kelly</span> Governor of Kansas since 2019

Laura Jeanne Kelly is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 48th governor of Kansas. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 18th district in the Kansas Senate from 2005 to 2019. Kelly was elected governor in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Kris Kobach. She was reelected in 2022, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Derek Schmidt by a 2.21% margin.

Dennis D. Pyle is a Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 1st district since 2005. He ran for governor of Kansas in the 2022 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Schodorf</span> American politician

Jean Kurtis Schodorf is an American politician. She is known for being a three-term Republican Kansas state senator and was the Democratic Party nominee for Kansas Secretary of State in 2014. She was defeated on November 4, 2014 by incumbent Kris Kobach by a margin of 59%-41%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Colyer</span> Governor of Kansas from 2018 to 2019

Jeffrey William Colyer is an American surgeon and politician who served as the 47th governor of Kansas from January 31, 2018, to January 14, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. Colyer served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and the Kansas Senate from 2009 to 2011. He assumed the governorship when Sam Brownback resigned to become United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Colyer ran for a full term as governor in 2018, but narrowly lost the Republican primary to Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, who in turn lost the general election to Democratic nominee Laura Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake LaTurner</span> American politician (born 1988)

Jacob Andrew Joseph LaTurner is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, LaTurner was the 40th Kansas state treasurer from 2017 to 2021 and a state senator from the 13th district from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas</span>

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the 2014 Kansas gubernatorial election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States Senate election in Kansas</span>

The 2020 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Kansas, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Kansas gubernatorial election</span>

The 2018 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Kansas. Incumbent Republican governor Sam Brownback was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas</span>

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Kansas, one from each of the state's four congressional districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Rogers (politician)</span> American politician and businessman (born 1958)

Lynn Wayne Rogers is an American politician and businessman who served as the 41st Kansas State Treasurer from 2021 to 2023. He previously served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2019 to 2021. A Democrat, he had previously served on the board of Wichita Public Schools from 2001 to 2017, and in the Kansas Senate representing the 25th district in west Wichita from 2017 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate election in Kansas</span>

The 2022 United States Senate election in Kansas was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Kansas. Incumbent Republican Senator Jerry Moran was first elected in 2010, winning the seat vacated by Sam Brownback, and ran for re-election to a third term in office. Democrat Mark Holland, the former mayor of Kansas City, was Moran's opponent in the general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of South Carolina. Incumbent Republican governor Henry McMaster ran for re-election for a second full term in office and secured the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary. Joe Cunningham, former United States Representative from South Carolina's 1st congressional district, was the Democratic nominee. McMaster won the general election with 58% of the vote — a larger margin than in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Kansas gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Kansas, with primary elections taking place on August 2, 2022. Governor Laura Kelly ran for re-election to a second term, facing Republican State Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Kansas elections</span>

A general election was held in the state of Kansas on November 6, 2018. Primary elections were held on August 7, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Kansas Attorney General election</span>

The 2022 Kansas Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the Attorney General of Kansas. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced he would retire to run for governor. The Republican nominee was former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and the Democratic nominee was former police officer, prosecutor, and state securities regulator, Chris Mann. Kobach narrowly won, taking 50.80% of the general election vote to Mann's 49.20%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2026 United States gubernatorial elections</span>

United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in 36 states and three territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2022, except in New Hampshire and Vermont, where governors serve two-year terms and will elect their governors in 2024. Many of the states with elections in this cycle have incumbents who are officially term-limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2026 Georgia gubernatorial election</span>

The 2026 Georgia gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026 to elect the governor of Georgia. Incumbent Republican governor Brian Kemp will be term-limited by the Georgia Constitution in 2026, and cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term.

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Bahl, Andrew. "National poll: More than half of residents approve of Gov. Laura Kelly's job performance". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  3. ↑ "Abortion rights support helps Kansas Gov. Kelly win 2nd term". AP News. 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  4. ↑ "Report: Kansas gov. is one of the top 10 most popular in the nation". Yahoo News. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  5. ↑ Staff, A. O. L. (2024-05-04). "Are Gov. Laura Kelly's rising approval numbers because of her frequent use of veto powers?". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  6. ↑ KIC (2020-12-14). "Governor Laura Kelly Announces Intention to Appoint Commerce Secretary David Toland to Become Lieutenant Governor". Governor of the State of Kansas. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  7. ↑ Carpenter, Tim (2023-06-03). "Hawkins, Kobach celebrate GOP's political stand against Democrats at state, federal levels • Kansas Reflector". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  8. ↑ "Mike Pompeo's Political Ambitions and Influences". American Oversight. May 4, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Kansas GOP congressman Jake LaTurner is not running again, citing family reasons". AP News. 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.