Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
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← 2022
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| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kansas |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2026 |
| Primary: August 4, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican Inside Elections: Toss-up |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Kansas executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Kansas is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 4, 2026. The filing deadline is June 1, 2026.
In Kansas, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run for election together on a single ticket in both the primary and the general election.
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 4 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Governor
General election
The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas
Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas on August 4, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Ethan Corson | |
 | Cindy Holscher | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Kansas
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 4, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Lieutenant Governor
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Republican primary election
There are no candidates on the ballot in the Republican primary at this time.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- April McCoy (R)
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kansas
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Democratic-held governorship in state Trump won
- See also: Gubernatorial elections, 2026
This is one of five governorships Democrats are defending in states President Donald Trump (R) won in 2024: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
Republicans are defending two governorships in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024: New Hampshire and Vermont.
The table below show which states are holding gubernatorial elections in 2026 and the last presidential and gubernatorial margin of victory in each. Click on the bar below to expand the table.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Kansas gubernatorial election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 1/20/2026 | 1/13/2026 | 1/6/2026 | 12/23/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Governor of Kansas
Incumbent Laura Kelly defeated Derek Schmidt, Dennis Pyle, and Seth Cordell in the general election for Governor of Kansas on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Laura Kelly (D) | 49.5 | 499,849 |
 | Derek Schmidt (R) | 47.3 | 477,591 | |
 | Dennis Pyle (Independent) | 2.0 | 20,452 | |
 | Seth Cordell (L) | 1.1 | 11,106 | |
| Total votes: 1,008,998 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas
Incumbent Laura Kelly defeated Richard Karnowski in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Laura Kelly | 93.8 | 270,968 |
| Richard Karnowski | 6.2 | 17,802 | ||
| Total votes: 288,770 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Kansas
Derek Schmidt defeated Arlyn Briggs in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Schmidt | 80.6 | 373,524 |
| Arlyn Briggs | 19.4 | 89,898 | ||
| Total votes: 463,422 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kent McElroy (R)
- Jeff Colyer (R)
- Richard Duncan (R)
- Chase LaPorte (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Governor of Kansas
Seth Cordell advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of Kansas on April 23, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Seth Cordell (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Governor of Kansas
Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach, Greg Orman, Jeff Caldwell, and Rick Kloos in the general election for Governor of Kansas on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Laura Kelly (D) | 48.0 | 506,727 |
 | Kris Kobach (R) | 43.0 | 453,645 | |
 | Greg Orman (Independent) | 6.5 | 68,590 | |
 | Jeff Caldwell (L) | 1.9 | 20,020 | |
 | Rick Kloos (Independent) | 0.6 | 6,584 | |
| Total votes: 1,055,566 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrea Costley (Independent)
- Aaron Coleman (Independent)
- JoeLarry Hunter (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas
Laura Kelly defeated Carl Brewer, Joshua Svaty, Arden Andersen, and Jack Bergeson in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Laura Kelly | 51.4 | 80,377 |
 | Carl Brewer | 20.2 | 31,493 | |
 | Joshua Svaty | 17.5 | 27,292 | |
 | Arden Andersen | 8.4 | 13,161 | |
| Jack Bergeson | 2.5 | 3,950 | ||
| Total votes: 156,273 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Tabman (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Kansas
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris Kobach | 40.6 | 128,832 |
 | Jeff Colyer | 40.5 | 128,489 | |
 | Jim Barnett | 8.8 | 27,994 | |
 | Ken Selzer | 7.8 | 24,804 | |
 | Patrick Kucera | 1.0 | 3,212 | |
 | Tyler Ruzich | 0.7 | 2,275 | |
| Joseph Tutera Jr. | 0.5 | 1,559 | ||
| Total votes: 317,165 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Kansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Sam Brownback/Jeff Colyer Incumbent |
49.8% | 433,196 | |
| Democratic | Paul Davis/Jill Docking | 46.1% | 401,100 | |
| Libertarian | Keen Umbehr/Josh Umbehr | 4% | 35,206 | |
| Total Votes | 869,502 | |||
| Election results via Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
See also
| Kansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Governor of Kansas official website
- Lieutenant Governor of Kansas official website
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
