Kansas kept a Democrat in the governor’s office by about 7,000 votes, its closest race in more than 50 years
Democrat Cindy Holscher has won the Kansas governor's race, beating Trump-backed Senate President Ty Masterson by about 7,000 votes out of nearly 1.1 million after a week-long count and a close-race audit. Masterson has conceded. It is the first time in Kansas history that one Democratic governor will hand over to another.
Live updates
- 5.45pm AWST, 15 NovemberLatest
Kansas is marked called on VNN's US midterms results page. Democrats have 23 governorships to Republicans' 12, with Alaska still counting.
- Friday 13 November AWST
Holscher is declared the winner of the Kansas governor's race; Masterson concedes.
- 10 November
Holscher says transition work with Governor Laura Kelly has begun while counties audit the result.
- 4 November
Masterson, trailing by about 5,500 votes, says the result needs "another look".
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Three things to know
- The margin is well under one percentage point, the tightest Kansas governor's race in more than half a century.
- Holscher takes over from Laura Kelly, who could not run again after two terms, on 11 January 2027.
- Republicans still hold the Kansas Senate, which was not on the ballot this year, so Holscher inherits Kelly's fight over vetoes.
Cindy Holscher will be the next governor of Kansas. The Democratic state senator from Johnson County was declared the winner on Thursday, US time, more than a week after polls closed, and Republican Ty Masterson has conceded.
Holscher led by about 5,500 votes on election night. That lead grew to roughly 7,000 as the last mail ballots were counted, while counties ran the audit Kansas law requires in very close races. On the latest count Holscher has 50.3% to Masterson’s 49.7%.
Why does a half-point win in Kansas matter?
Kansas voted for Donald Trump by double digits in 2024, and Masterson ran with his endorsement. Democrats have now won the governorship there three elections in a row, and never before has one Democrat directly succeeded another. Kelly won her second term in 2022 by about two points; Holscher’s margin is less than a third of that.
The result also adds to the Democrats’ night across the country. With Kansas decided, Democrats have won 23 of this year’s 36 governor races and Republicans 12. Only Alaska is still being counted.
What did Masterson do while the count went on?
The day after the election, trailing by about 5,500 votes, Masterson said the results deserved “another look”, and the state’s close-race audit went ahead. Holscher said transition work with Kelly had already begun by 10 November. Masterson conceded after the race was called.
What can Holscher actually do?
Not as much as the win might suggest. Republicans still control the state Senate, whose members were elected in 2024 for four years, and Kansas Republicans have repeatedly overridden Kelly’s vetoes on abortion, transgender care and election laws. Holscher will have to deal with the same Senate.
VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
4 August 2026Primaries settle the match-up
Masterson wins the Republican nomination with Trump's endorsement; Holscher wins the Democratic race.
3 November 2026Election day
Holscher leads narrowly on election night, but the race is too close to call.
4 November 2026Audit begins
Masterson asks for another look at the results, and Kansas runs its close-race audit.
12 November 2026Race called
Holscher is declared the winner, and Masterson concedes.
What happens next
Kansas counties finish their audits and the state certifies the result in the coming weeks. Holscher is due to be sworn in on 11 January 2027. In Alaska, the last undecided governor's race goes to a ranked-choice count on 18 November.
Sources
- VNN
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That is the story in a minute. For the evidence, context and what happens next, switch to the full story.
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