Holscher Wins Kansas Governor's Race by 7,000 Votes
The Facts
- The Associated Press called the Kansas governor's race Thursday, nine days after Election Day, with Democrat Cindy Holscher taking 50.4% to Republican Ty Masterson's 49.6%, a margin of about 0.7 points, or roughly 7,000 votes.
- Masterson conceded, saying in a statement that "it looks like we will come up just short" and that he had called Holscher to congratulate her. He said he would return to the state Senate in January to work on property taxes, public safety and schools.
- At her first news conference as governor-elect on Friday, Holscher said the election "was never about Republicans versus Democrats." She also wrote online, "Thank you, Kansas! It's the honor of a lifetime to serve as your next Governor."
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Breaking the Republican supermajority while retaining the governorship changes everything — vetoes will finally stick, so bathroom bans and stripped transgender licenses stop sailing through over a governor's objection. Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization poll well with Kansans and have only stalled because GOP leadership kept them off the floor. Kansans voted to move forward together, not backward.
Republican narrative
Coming up just short in a race this tight hands nobody a mandate for a hard-left turn in Topeka. Hundreds of thousands of Kansans backed the Republican banner and sent a Republican legislator right back to the Statehouse to work on property taxes, public safety, affordability and schools. That's the real Kansas agenda, and brushing it aside will make for a short honeymoon.
