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. 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.
Background
Despite Kansas being a longtime red state in presidential races, 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. 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. 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. However, the Republican Party has for a long time been the dominant party in the state of Kansas, holding 5 of 6 seats in Kansas's congressional delegation as well as a supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature. Additionally, no party has held the governorship for more than 8 consecutive years since 1957.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Publicly expressed interest
- Cindy Holscher, state senator (2021–present)
Potential
- Ethan Corson, state senator (2021–present)
- Julie Lorenz, former Kansas Secretary of Transportation (2019–2022)
- David Toland, Lieutenant Governor of Kansas (2021–present)
Declined
- Matt All, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas (2018–present)
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Doug Billings, podcaster
- Charlotte O'Hara, former Johnson County commissioner (2021–2025) and former state representative from the 17th district (2011–2013)
- Stacy Rogers, consignment sale business owner
- Scott Schwab, Kansas Secretary of State (2019–present)
Filed paperwork
- Joy Eakins, former Wichita Schools board member (2013–2018)
Publicly expressed interest
- Jeff Colyer, former Governor of Kansas (2018–2019)
- Dayton Moore, senior advisor to the Texas Rangers and former president of the Kansas City Royals
- Ken Rahjes, state representative (2016–present)
- Vicki Schmidt, Kansas Insurance Commissioner (2019–present)
Potential
- Kris Kobach, Kansas Attorney General (2023–present), former Kansas Secretary of State (2011–2019), nominee for governor in 2018, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020
- Ty Masterson, president of the Kansas Senate (2021–present) from the 16th district (2009–present)
- Philip Sarnecki, financial services executive
Declined
- Ron Estes, U.S. Representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district (2017–present) and former Kansas State Treasurer (2011–2017)
- Jake LaTurner, U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district (2021–2025) and former Kansas State Treasurer (2017–2021)
- Jon Rolph, member of the Kansas Board of Regents (2019–present)
General election
Predictions
See also
- Elections in Kansas
- Political party strength in Kansas
- Kansas Democratic Party
- Kansas Republican Party
- Government of Kansas
- 2026 United States Senate election in Kansas
- 2026 United States gubernatorial elections
- 2026 United States elections
External links
- Official campaign websites
- Joy Eakins (R) for Governor
- Charlotte O'Hara (R) for Governor
- Stacy Rogers (R) for Governor
References
