Holscher Edges Masterson by Less Than a Point to Win Kansas Governor's Race; Masterson Calls to Congratulate Her

Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher has won the race for Kansas governor, the Associated Press projected Thursday, keeping the office in Democratic hands after a count that stayed too close to call for nine days. Holscher held 50.3% of the vote to 49.7% for Republican Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate, when the AP called the race at 5:43 p.m., the Washington Examiner reported.

Masterson, who ran with President Donald Trump's endorsement, posted on social media that he had called Holscher to congratulate her, KWCH reported. He described the result as a tough loss for Republicans and said he will be back at work in the Senate in January.

Holscher claimed victory on election night with an unofficial lead of 5,557 votes, KWCH reported. "Whether I earned your vote or not, I will work for you," she said in a statement that also thanked Masterson for his service. Masterson held off on conceding. The morning after the vote, he said the margin was close enough to trigger the extra review Kansas law provides. "Every Kansan deserves to know the result is right," he said, according to the Kansas Reflector.

Under state law, a margin within 1% sends county election officers to audit 10% of their precincts, and a candidate may request a full recount once county commissions certify the results, which must happen within six to 13 days of the election, the Reflector reported. The state pays for a recount only when the race is within half a percentage point; otherwise the candidate posts a bond and pays if the outcome stands. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day had until Friday, Nov. 6, to arrive, and by then Holscher's lead had grown to nearly 7,300 votes, KWCH reported.

Holscher, a former Sprint manager from the Johnson County suburbs of Kansas City, won more than 60% of the vote in that county, which holds about 23% of the state's roughly 2 million voters, offsetting Masterson's strength in rural Kansas, the AP reported. She made a moratorium on new AI data centers a cornerstone of her campaign, citing voters' worries over energy and water use. Masterson built his race around cutting property taxes, which the AP called his biggest campaign promise, along with safer communities and better schools.

Republicans spent heavily. The Republican Governors Association put $19 million into TV and digital ads, according to AdImpact figures cited by the AP, and Republicans outspent Democrats more than 3-to-1 overall. Fox News noted that Holscher faced scrutiny during the campaign over 2023 social media posts, made during a debate on a bill limiting drag shows in front of children, that suggested Jesus could have been transgender.

Holscher succeeds term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who won in 2018 and 2022. Her win caps a strong cycle for Kansas Democrats in a state Trump carried by 16 points in 2024. Adam Hamilton won a U.S. Senate seat, the party's first Senate victory in Kansas since 1932, and Chris Mann unseated Attorney General Kris Kobach, the AP reported. Democrats also gained enough Kansas House seats to end the Republicans' veto-proof supermajority in that chamber, KCTV5 reported.

Masterson remains the Senate's top Republican leader. His property tax relief push now runs through a divided Topeka, where Republicans still control the Senate and a new Democratic governor holds the veto pen.