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Ty Masterson and Cindy Holscher Win Kansas GOP and Democratic Governor Primaries

Kansas state Senate President Ty Masterson, endorsed by President Trump, and state Sen. Cindy Holscher have won their respective party primaries to run for governor in the upcoming general election.

Aug 5, 2026, 2:01 AM Updated Aug 5, 2026, 3:09 AM The Hill

Cook Political Reportperson Senate President Ty Mastersonperson Kansastopic Decision Desk HQtopic DDHQorganization Laura Kellyperson GOPorganization Cindy Holscherperson Johnson Countygeography Ty Mastersonperson Republicantopic Govtopic

Satellite image of crops growing in Kansas , United States . Healthy, growing crops are green. Corn would be growing into leafy stalks by late June (when this photo was taken). Sorghum , which resembles corn, grows more slowly and would be much smaller and therefore, possibly paler. Wheat is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Fields of brown have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie fallow for the year. The circular crop fields are a characteristic of center pivot irrigation . The fields shown here are 800 and 1,600 meters (0.5 and 1 mile) in diameter. The image is centered near Sublette, Kansas at about 37.5 degrees north latitude, 100.75 degrees west longitude, and covers an area of 37.2 x 38.8 km. The 'grid' in which the fields are laid out runs north-south/west-east and the dark angled line is U.S. Route 56 . The image is aligned with the satellite orbital track, which is in a 98 degrees tilted orbit. North is about 10 degrees counter-clockwise from up. The image is a false-color presentation made to simulate natural color. The 3 bands that were used are in the green, red, and near infrared parts of the spectrum. ASTER does not have a blue channel, so any blue that can be seen was created from the other bands. · Photo by NASA · Public domain · Source: wikimedia

Kansas state Senate President Ty Masterson (R), endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is projected to win the Republican primary for governor, defeating five other GOP candidates, according to preliminary results from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). Masterson faced opponents including Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, former Johnson County commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, business owner Stacy Rogers, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, and financial services executive Philip Sarnecki.

Masterson received endorsements from Trump and former Governor Roger Marshall. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that "Ty will run on the Republican ‘ticket’ with my friend, the Great U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, who, along with many America First Patriots in Kansas, strongly believe in him."

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report characterizes the open race to become Kansas governor as leaning Republican. The report also noted the challenges Kansas Republicans faced after former Governor Sam Brownback's 2012 income tax cuts pushed the state into a fiscal crisis, which contributed to Democrat Laura Kelly’s 2018 gubernatorial victory. The report further mentioned Masterson’s 2011 bankruptcy filing over $800,000 in personal debts as a potential point of attack regarding fiscal responsibility. Additionally, Philip Sarnecki criticized Masterson’s $217,000 director position as a "no-show job" that "smells like career politician misconduct," according to a July report by the Kansas City Star.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Cindy Holscher is projected to win the primary to replace term-limited Governor Laura Kelly (D), per DDHQ preliminary results. Holscher outpaced a narrow field including state Sen. Ethan Corson, who was backed by Kelly, and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog. Holscher currently serves as the state Senate minority whip representing Johnson County outside Kansas City and has previously served in the state House.

The general election will determine the next governor of the Sunflower State, with the Cook Political Report indicating a Republican lean.

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🇺🇸 The Hill · United States · Washington, D.C.

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