Candidates are lining up for the 2026 election in Kansas to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, whose second term ends in 2027.
For the past eight years, the greatest obstacle for Republicans in the state Legislature has been Kelly’s veto pen. That alone has blocked or delayed the GOP-controlled state House and Senate’s top priorities on everything from tax policy to social issues.
After gaining seats in the 2024 elections, Republicans control more than two-thirds of the state House and Senate. Those “supermajorities,” as they’re called, have given the GOP enough votes to override many of Kelly’s vetoes.
But Republicans know their supermajorities are subject to change every election cycle. With a more cooperative state executive, the legislative math would become much easier.
There’s already a full slate of Republicans, including former Gov. Jeff Colyer, current Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Senate Pres. Ty Masterson and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.
The Democrats include a pair of state senators, Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson. Lt. Gov. David Toland indicated he would not seek any office in 2026, in order to focus on economic development projects.
If Kansans elect a Democratic governor, it would break a long-standing cycle of alternation between Democratic and Republican administrations in the state.
If Kansans elect a Republican governor and the GOP retains its commanding majorities in the state Legislature, there will be few legislative barriers for Republicans.
Primary elections are on Aug. 6, 2026. Voters will decide the next governor of Kansas — as well as a U.S. senator, state attorney general, state insurance commissioner, secretary of state and state treasurer — on Nov. 3, 2026.
Here’s a list of candidates. The party with the most competitors is listed first.
Last updated July 23, 2025. This list will be updated as candidates join or leave the race
Republican candidates
Doug Billings, Republican
- Political experience: Doug Billings, in Olathe, describes himself as a political outsider.
- What else? Billings is a former teacher and human resources specialist who runs the conservative podcast, “The Right Side with Doug Billings.”
- Platform: On his website, Billings said he wants to strengthen anti-human trafficking laws. On education, Billings wants to “remove curriculum decisions from Topeka’s bureaucrats and place them in the hands of parents and local school boards.” He also wants to bring Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force to Kansas using “targeted tax breaks.”
Jeff Colyer, Republican
- Political experience: Jeff Colyer, in Overland Park, served as Kansas governor from 2018 to 2019, and as lieutenant governor for seven years prior to that. When former Gov. Sam Brownback left Kansas to take a post in President Donald Trump’s first administration, then-Lt. Gov. Colyer stepped up to serve the final year of Brownback’s term. Colyer also served in the Kansas Legislature.
- What else? A physician by training, Colyer is a plastic surgeon based in Overland Park.
- Platform: In a campaign video, Colyer said he wants to “cut taxes and bring high-paying manufacturing and tech jobs to our state.” As governor, Colyer supported a state constitutional amendment to remove abortion rights protections — an initiative that failed when put to Kansas voters in 2022.
Joy Eakins, Republican
- Political experience: Joy Eakins, in Wichita, served on the Wichita School Board from 2013 to 2018.
- What else? Eakins is founder and President of Cornerstone Data, a data consulting firm.
- Platform: On her website, Eakins proposed limiting the size of government by cutting taxes, business regulations and state budgets. Railing against “the consequences of government-controlled public health decisions” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eakins said families should “have the right to make the medical decisions that benefit themselves and their kids, even if those decisions are different from what government bureaucrats recommend.”
Ty Masterson, Republican
- Political background: Ty Masterson, in Andover, is the Kansas Senate President. He has served in that chamber since 2009, after a stint in the state House of Representatives.
- What else? Masterson is a former small business owner and serves as Director of GoCreate, a collaborative workshop at Wichita State University funded by Koch Industries.
- Platform: On his site, Masterson says he wants to lower property taxes, prioritize funding for police and “raise pay for good teachers.” During his time in the state Legislature, Masterson said he has targeted cultural issues, voting to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports and block state universities from running programs to foster diversity and inclusion.
Charlotte O’Hara, Republican
- Political experience: Charlotte O’Hara, in Overland Park, was until recently on the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners. She also served one term in the state House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.
- What else? O’Hara has a background as a contractor, small business owner and substitute teacher, according to the Johnson County Post.
- Platform: O’Hara is a critic of state tax incentive packages like the one that a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed last year, which is aimed at convincing the Kansas City Chiefs or Royals to build new stadiums in Kansas. She also supports the direct election of Kansas Supreme Court justices, an issue that will be on the same ballot as her in the Aug. 2026 primary election.
Stacy Rogers, Republican
- Political experience: Stacy Rogers is a small business owner in Wichita. According to her Ballotpedia survey, Rogers serves on the Sedgwick County Developmental Disability Organization.
- What else? Rogers said she homeschooled her three kids and worked in pharmacy and medical settings for 15 years.
- Platform: Rogers said “My day one executive order will be to go through each Department with a fine tooth comb (and) root out inefficiencies, mishandling and fraud.”
Vicki Schmidt, Republican
- Political experience: Vicki Schmidt, in Topeka, is the state Insurance Commissioner. Before that, she served in the state Senate from 2005 to 2019.
- What else? Schmidt has worked as a local pharmacist for over 40 years, according to her website. She’s from Wichita, but has lived in Topeka most of her life.
- Platform: Schmidt is running on her record as insurance commissioner, which includes taking steps to assist Kansans with their insurance claims and saving businesses money. On abortion, an issue her conservative Republican counterparts take a hard line on, Schmidt told the Kansas Reflector that she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. That 2022 decision ended the 50-year federal guarantee on the right to get an abortion. But Schmidt said she also believes in “reasonable exceptions” that allow people to seek abortions in some cases.
Scott Schwab, Republican
- Political experience: Scott Schwab, in Overland Park, is Kansas Secretary of State. Before taking that post in 2019, Schwab served as a state representative starting in 2003.
- What else? Before politics, Schwab’s website says he was a small business owner.
- Platform: Schwab’s site says he wants to lower taxes and regulations on businesses, and that he will “fight to ban communist China from buying land near our military bases.” As secretary of state, Schwab has championed voter ID laws and other election security measures, but denied — as some claimed — that elections in Kansas suffered from large-scale fraud.
Democratic candidates
Ethan Corson, Democrat
- Political experience: Ethan Corson, in Fairway, has served in the state Senate since 2021. He has held a variety of non-elected government roles with the International Trade Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and as former executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party.
- What else? Corson is an attorney by training.
- Priorities: As governor, Corson said he would focus on “stronger public schools, lower taxes for working and middle-class Kansans, and aggressively recruiting new businesses to our state,” according to his website. Last legislative session, Corson co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Holscher and others to raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour.
Cindy Holscher, Democrat
- Political experience: Cindy Holscher, in Overland Park, has served in the state Senate since 2021. Prior to that, she was a state representative for four years.
- What else? Holscher has had a career in advertising, most recently at Sprint.
- Platform: On her website, Holscher said she believes in “providing tax relief for working and middle class Kansans, not billionaires.” During her time in office, Holscher supported ending the sales tax on food and creating child care tax credits.
Marty Tuley, Democrat
- Professional experience: Marty Tuley is an author and personal trainer in Lawrence.
- Platform: Tuley wants to legalize recreational cannabis and use resulting tax revenue to help fund education and health programs. He also says he wants to “eliminate massive incentives for out-of-state corporations.” Tuley promotes daily physical education in schools and banning padded football for kids under 13.
According to publicly available campaign finance records, Brandon Adams intends to run for governor. But the Kansas News Service could not confirm details about Adams or his campaign.
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
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