Ty Masterson won the Republican nomination for governor in Kansas on Tuesday, putting the State Senate president on the path to a fall showdown for the governor’s office after a primary shaped by Donald Trump’s backing. NBC News projected Masterson as the winner.
The result gives Kansas Republicans a nominee who entered the race with Trump’s endorsement and then turned that support into a statewide victory over a crowded field that included Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, businessman Philip Sarnecki and several others. Masterson now moves on to the general election, where he will face the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
That Democratic contest includes state Sens. Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson, who have taken sharply different paths to the same prize. Holscher has run a progressive, anti-establishment campaign, while Corson has leaned heavily on support from term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The Republican side offered its own contrast: Masterson and his allies were outspent on the airwaves by his GOP opponents, yet the endorsement from President Donald Trump gave him a national lift at the exact moment the race was being decided.
Trump’s pull in Kansas still carries real weight. He won the state by double digits in each of the last three presidential elections, and during a tele-rally last week he called Masterson a fighter, a winner and someone who has done a fantastic job throughout life. He also said, “We love each other, we love that state.”
The nomination matters beyond party politics because Kansas is seen as the GOP’s best opportunity to pick up a gubernatorial seat this fall. Registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats nearly 2 to 1, which gives Masterson a favorable map heading into November. What remains unresolved is the margin that carried him through a crowded primary field, but the outcome is clear: Masterson is now the Republican to beat in a state Republicans believe they can hold and maybe expand.
