Ty Masterson and Cindy Holscher emerged from Tuesday’s Kansas gubernatorial primaries with very different paths to victory, setting up a November contest that will test whether Kansas voters want to continue the centrist approach of Gov. Laura Kelly or move the state in a more conservative direction.
Masterson, the Kansas Senate president from Andover, captured the Republican nomination after a crowded and costly seven-candidate primary. Backed by President Donald Trump, Masterson prevailed in a field where candidates competed to establish the strongest conservative credentials, with millions of dollars spent and outside groups pouring more than $20 million into the race.
On the Democratic side, state Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park defeated fellow state Sen. Ethan Corson in a closer-than-expected race, despite Corson receiving the endorsement of Gov. Laura Kelly. While Corson campaigned as a consensus builder, many Democratic voters appeared to conclude Holscher’s more aggressive campaign style would make her the stronger challenger against the Republican nominee.
Although Holscher has built a reputation as a pragmatic, middle-of-the-road legislator capable of winning in a Republican-leaning district, she also frequently points to her upbringing on a Kansas farm as shaping her practical approach to governing. Supporters say that combination gives her credibility with both suburban and rural voters.
The primary also sets the stage for a potentially historic ticket. Holscher selected Wichita attorney K.C. Ohaebosim as her running mate. If elected, Ohaebosim would become the first African American elected to statewide executive office in Kansas since Edward P. McCabe, who was elected state auditor in 1882 and remains the only Black Kansan to have won statewide executive office.
Following the primary, Kelly quickly moved to unite Democrats after backing Corson.
“We cannot let Kansas go backwards,” Kelly said. “I ask all Kansans, regardless of political party, to unite and move our state forward by electing Cindy Holscher this November.”
Kelly warned that a Masterson administration would return Kansas to “the dark days of Sam Brownback,” citing concerns about school funding, fiscal management and infrastructure.
The general election now presents Kansans with two distinctly different governing philosophies. Masterson is expected to campaign on conservative priorities aligned with Trump, while Holscher will argue for continuing a bipartisan, pragmatic approach that she says builds on Kelly’s record while standing up to what Democrats describe as political extremism.