Overview

• Masterson announced on July 20 that he is running for governor to reverse what he calls “liberal mismanagement” in response to rising crime, poor student performance and high taxes.
• He highlights his record since 2009 of enacting tax relief, election law changes, bans on diversity programs in higher education and limits on transgender medical care for minors.
• Masterson joins a growing GOP field that includes Secretary of State Scott Schwab, former governor Jeff Colyer, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and several other statewide officials and challengers.
• On the Democratic side, state Sen. Cindy Holscher has emerged as the leading contender to replace term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly in the open-seat contest.
• Kansas’s long history of alternating party control in the governor’s office and recent Republican legislative supermajorities frame the stakes of the 2026 race.