Early poll of Democratic primary race for Kansas governor reveals most voters undecided

Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Johnson County Democrat running for governor, says a poll conducted for her campaign showed Democrats favored her candidacy over Democratic Sen. Ethan Corson, also of Johnson County. In this image from Oct. 13, 2025, Holscher attends a meeting at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church in Lenexa. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — A survey of the 2026 campaign for Kansas governor shows a majority of Democratic voters unable to choose between frontrunners Sen. Cindy Holscher and Sen. Ethan Corson if the election was held in January rather than in August.

In the survey’s hypothetical head-to-head showdown measured by Public Policy Polling, 58% of 699 participants couldn’t decide who they would vote for at this point. More than seven months of statewide campaigning remain until the Aug. 4 primary to select a Democratic Party nominee to take on winner of the Republican Party primary race.

The poll, which was sponsored by the Holscher campaign, revealed that among individuals who felt they had sufficient information to declare a preference, 33% said they would vote for Holscher and 9% would vote for Corson. Both Democratic candidates represent a Johnson County district in the state Senate.

Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University in Topeka, said it was telling that 68% were unable to form a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Holscher and 79% couldn’t decide the same questions for Corson. Neither candidate has spent significantly on campaign advertising.

“Obviously, this far out of this race with two candidates who are not known statewide the poll is showing ‘don’t know them’ as the leader,” Beatty said. “Holscher is slightly more well known — although still close to 70% don’t know her — and leading among that small group of Dems who know them.”

Beatty said the survey could reflect that Holscher participated in two more legislative election cycles than Corson. In addition, he said, Holscher had more time to raise general public awareness for her campaign for governor. She announced her candidacy in June, while Corson entered the contest nearly six weeks later in July.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is completing the final year of her second term, endorsed Corson’s campaign in November.

 

Sen. Ethan Corson, a Johnson County Democrat, is seeking the 2026 Democratic Party nomination for Kansas governor. This image from Dec. 2, 2024, shows Corson speaking inside the Kansas Capitol. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Holscher campaign manager Madi Ashcraft said this snapshot was indicative of what backers believed about Holscher.

“Cindy has the support of grassroots Democrats and her message resonates with voters,” Ashcraft said. “While other candidates are catering to out-of-state donors and the establishment, Cindy has everyday Kansans on her side because they know what she stands for.”

In terms of campaign donations during 2025, Corson’s finance report said he generated $902,600 compared with Holscher’s $397,900. Corson spent $375,600 from the account during the year, which was significantly more than the $218,000 expended by Holscher. On Dec. 31, Corson reported nearly three times more cash on hand as Holscher.

“Ethan Corson is the only candidate in this race building a broad coalition of support to win both the primary and the general election,” said Kyla Sabado, Corson’s campaign manager. “In 2025, thousands of Kansans chipped in to help us build real statewide momentum. We are proud to be the only campaign in this race endorsed by labor, along with the enthusiastic support of Gov. Laura Kelly.”

For the survey conducted Jan. 8 and 9, the respondents were 62% women, 88% white, 72% were 46 years of age or older, and 48% completed at least a two-year community college degree. The text and landline survey concentrated on Johnson, Sedgwick and Shawnee county media markets.

Given the survey exclusively explored views of Democrats, it came as little surprise 96% of participants disapproved of GOP President Donald Trump.

Holscher received a favorable response from 28% of those surveyed, while 4% had an unfavorable view of her. Seventeen percent of participants had a favorable perception of Corson, but 5% said they had an unfavorable view of him.

Those taking part in the Kansas poll were presented background summaries of both Corson and Holscher. Forty-four percent said they found the description of Holscher “very convincing” in terms of drawing interest in her message. Twenty-nine percent of people said information offered to them about Corson provided  a “very convincing” argument for his candidacy.

For purposes of this poll, respondents were told Holscher was a member of the Senate who “fights for hard-working people and our public schools.” They were informed Holscher was raised on a farm and among the first people in her family to graduate from college.

She helped found the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus in the Legislature and “led the effort” to repeal Gov. Sam Brownback’s aggressive state income tax cuts. Participants in the poll were told Holscher took part in bringing Republicans and Democrats together to restore public school funding as well as grant tax reductions to “regular people instead of corporations and create more jobs in Kansas.”

For the survey, Corson was characterized as a senator and lifelong Kansan who attended Garden City Community College on a baseball scholarship, earned a law degree and worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama.

They were told Corson had “a common-sense approach, working with Republicans and Democrats to make our schools stronger, lowering taxes for the working- and middle-class, and recruiting new businesses to Kansas.” The summary  said Corson was endorsed by the governor because he was a “middle-of-the-road candidate who will be laser-focused on kitchen-table issues.”