Race call comes after days of provisional ballot counting and local recounts
Democrat Cindy Holscher won the race for Kansas governor, defeating Republican Ty Masterson, according to a race call by the Associated Press. The call came after days of counting provisional ballots and recounts by local officials in a closely contested election.
The victory keeps the governor’s office in Democratic hands in a state with a heavily Republican legislature that usually votes for Republicans for other offices and in presidential elections. Of the 36 elections for governor across the country, Kansas had been seen as the most likely to flip from Democratic to Republican control. Term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is leaving the office after eight years.
Masterson, the president of the state Senate, ran with the endorsement of President Trump.
Holscher, 57, ran a campaign with notes of populism, promising to fight “sweetheart deals” for billionaires. She tied Masterson to his work in the state Senate when it passed a tax cut under former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback — a tax cut that led to a series of budget crises and was later repealed.
On schools, Holscher opposed school vouchers and called for more support for public schools, while Masterson backed school vouchers. Holscher also called for a moratorium on new data centers and for legalizing cannabis as a way to generate state revenue.
Masterson, also 57, called for lower property taxes and said faith influenced all his decisions, including in politics. He promised to be the “most pro-ag, pro-business, pro-oil and gas governor” the state has seen.
Masterson called Holscher “the most radical, liberal, socialist Democrat ever” on a ticket in Kansas.
“He likes to throw around a whole lot of labels,” Holscher responded. “You know why? Because that’s all he’s got.”