Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 4 Republican primary)
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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 |
A Republican Party primary takes place on August 4, 2026, in Kansas to determine which candidates will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election on November 3, 2026.
In Kansas, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run for election together on a single ticket in both the primary and the general election.
This page focuses on Kansas' Republican Party gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Kansas' Democratic gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
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
Republican primary
Republican primary for Governor of Kansas
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 4, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Doug Billings  | |
| Joy Eakins | ||
 | Ty Masterson | |
 | Charlotte O'Hara | |
 | Stacy Rogers | |
 | Vicki Schmidt | |
 | Scott Schwab | |
| ||||
| = 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
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "Doug Billings is a conservative podcaster, business leader, and Republican candidate for Governor of Kansas in the 2026 election. A resident of Johnson County, Billings hosts "The Right Side," a popular podcast focused on MAGA conservatism that reaches over 2 million listeners monthly. Prior to launching the podcast in 2020, he built a career as a senior executive in human resources. Billings is also an author and self-proclaimed patriot, emphasizing themes of faith and freedom in his work. A practicing Catholic and father of two sons, He entered the 2026 gubernatorial race aiming to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly by promoting conservative policies such as tax cuts, his "K-DOGE" (Kansas Department of Government Efficiency), election integrity, Second Amendment rights, bringing Space X and the U.S. Space Force to Kansas, and restoring Christian values in education and society. He is the only MAGA conservative political outsider witha. chance to win the election. Doug boasts about having the same amount of political experience as the American Founding Fathers: NONE! The Kansas establishment Swamp and RINO camps know Doug has a chance to win, so smear campaigns have been slung - but to no avail. Billings has received an endorsements from former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Chad Prather: Conservative media personality. Ryan Fournier: President of "Students For Trump""
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "I am a lifelong Kansan. Born in Wichita, raised in Newton. I am a business owner of multiple businesses in Wichita and Nationwide, including Eberly Farm, Kid's Closet Wichita and KCC North America, (The Parent Company of Kid's Closet) I am a former public, private & homeschool parent of three boys, two of which have learning challenges. I worked 15 years in Pharmacy and in medical settings. I am very well versed in health related issues, including alternative therapies and getting to the root of medical issues vs bandaiding the symptoms. I worked with families all over the state as a parent match with Families Together & helped families navigate issues and advocate for their child. I currently serve in Sedgwick Co on the SCDDO Advisory Board. I love our state and want to see families and businesses succeed and thrive."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kansas
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas' 1st | Tracey Mann | R+16 |
| Kansas' 2nd | Derek Schmidt | R+10 |
| Kansas' 3rd | Sharice Davids | D+2 |
| Kansas' 4th | Ron Estes | R+12 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas' 1st | 33.0% | 65.0% |
| Kansas' 2nd | 39.0% | 59.0% |
| Kansas' 3rd | 51.0% | 47.0% |
| Kansas' 4th | 37.0% | 61.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 60.6% of Kansans lived in one of the state's 100 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 29.6% lived in one of 3 Trending Democratic counties. Overall, Kansas was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, Donald Trump (R) in 2020, and Donald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Kansas following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Kansas county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 100 | 60.6% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 3 | 29.6% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 2 | 9.7% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 5 | 39.4% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 100 | 60.6% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Kansas presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 5 Democratic wins
- 27 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Kansas.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Kansas
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Kansas.
- See also: Party control of Kansas state government
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Kansas' congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Kansas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Republican | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 4 | 6 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Kansas' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Laura Kelly |
| Lieutenant Governor | David Toland |
| Secretary of State | Scott Schwab |
| Attorney General | Kris Kobach |
State legislature
Kansas State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 9 | |
| Republican Party | 31 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Kansas House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 37 | |
| Republican Party | 88 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 125 | |
Trifecta control
Kansas Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Sixteen years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
The table below details demographic data in Kansas and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Kansas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | United States | |
| Population | 2,937,880 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 81,758 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 77.9% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 5.4% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 2.9% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 9% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 13.3% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 91.9% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 35.2% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $72,639 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 11.5% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Kansas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 2,906,721 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 81,759 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.3% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 11.2% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $52,205 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Kansas
Kansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Kansas coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Kansas
- United States congressional delegations from Kansas
- Public policy in Kansas
- Endorsers in Kansas
- Kansas fact checks
- More...
See also
| Kansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
