Cindy Holscher defeats Ty Masterson for Kansas governor, AP projects

Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher defeated Republican Senate President Ty Masterson in the Kansas governor's race, the Associated Press said Thursday, keeping the office in Democratic hands.

The AP made its call nine days after Election Day. The close contest required election workers across all 105 Kansas counties to check results by hand-counting ballots from randomly selected precincts.

Axios put Holscher's lead at a little more than 7,000 votes, or roughly 0.7 percentage points. At the time of the AP call, she led 50.3% to 49.7%, the Washington Examiner reported.

Among this year's 36 gubernatorial contests, Kansas was considered the likeliest to shift from Democratic to Republican control, NPR reported. Axios said Holscher's victory prevents Republicans from adding the governorship to their control of the Kansas Legislature.

Masterson conceded on X and said he had phoned Holscher to offer congratulations. "It looks like we will come up just short, but the things we fought for are no less important today than they were yesterday," he said.

"This was a hard election for people who share our vision, here and across the country," Masterson said. He said he would go back to the state Senate in January and focus on property taxes, public safety, affordability and schools.

Holscher declared victory before the AP's call. "Thank you, Kansas! It's the honor of a lifetime to serve as your next Governor," she wrote on X afterward.

She will take over from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who must leave office because of term limits after eight years. Holscher said Tuesday that she and Kelly were already working on the transition.

Democrats have now won three consecutive Kansas governor's races, although Republicans have won the state in every presidential contest since 1968.

President Donald Trump endorsed Masterson after carrying Kansas in 2024 by 16 points.

Masterson sought distance from Trump in his campaign materials and on his website, NBC News reported. Trump nevertheless joined Masterson and Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall for campaigning in the state over the last weekend before Election Day.

Republicans spent nearly 3-to-1 more on general election advertising, according to tracking firm AdImpact.

Holscher called for a statewide pause on construction of new data centers in 2026. Standing among Kansas sunflowers in a campaign ad, she said, "As governor, I'll hit pause on data centers until we can set up firm guardrails to protect our communities and our budgets."

Masterson opposed such a pause and defended a 2025 law he supported that exempts data center investments from sales tax. Building the Future, a super PAC that supports data centers, joined the race in October to help him.

Masterson said earlier that Holscher was "the most radical, liberal, socialist Democrat ever" on a Kansas ticket. Holscher responded that he "likes to throw around a whole lot of labels." "You know why? Because that's all he's got," she said.

Holscher defeated fellow state Sen. Ethan Corson in the August Democratic primary, despite endorsements for Corson from Kelly and former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Kelly had said before that contest she was "very concerned about the direction Kansas will go in" if Holscher won, but endorsed her after the primary.

Masterson can still request a recount. Kansas pays for general election recounts only for margins within 0.5 percentage points, otherwise requiring a bond and a request by 5 p.m. on the day following the final county's official count.

State certification is needed to make Holscher's victory official, the Kansas secretary of state's office told Axios. Counties have until Nov. 16 to complete their audits, after which they must conduct their official canvass.

The State Board of Canvassers, whose members include Kelly, will meet Dec. 1 to certify the final results.