Gov. Laura Kelly affirms endorsement in Kansas governor’s race despite rivals’ protest
Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat nearing the end of her second term as governor, is working to reinforce her endorsement of state Sen. Ethan Corson in the three-candidate Democratic Party's gubernatorial race with less than one month remaining before the Aug. 4 primary. Two other Democrats in the contest, Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog and state Sen. Cindy Holscher, are sharing rebuttals to Kelly's pick. In this image, Kelly addresses a campaign crowd on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Grace Hills for Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Intraparty skirmishing among Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidates Ethan Corson, Cindy Holscher and Curt Skoog intensified as Gov. Laura Kelly pushed a new TV commercial reaffirming her preference of Corson ahead of the August primary election.
Kelly cut the updated endorsement ad for Corson, a state senator from Fairway, to remind voters that he supported expansion of eligibility for Medicaid, embraced abortion rights and wasn’t intimidated by President Donald Trump. Her 30-second spot said Corson had the “strength, judgment and backbone” for the job.
On Friday, Kelly said she ran for governor to get Kansas back on track, grow the economy and make the state a place people were proud to call home. In 2018 and 2022, Kelly defeated well-known conservative Republicans Kris Kobach and Derek Schmidt in her campaigns for governor. As she prepared to leave government service, she said it was important Kansas elected a new governor in 2026 with vision, skills and fortitude to move the state ahead.
“Ethan Corson possesses those qualities,” Kelly said. “I know he can do the job.”
The Democratic governor said Corson earned her endorsement because he stood the best chance of winning the Aug. 4 primary and mounting a general election campaign attractive to a coalition of Democratic, independent and moderate Republican voters. Those voting blocs were essential for a Democratic candidate to prevail in November, she said.
“I think in Kansas you just have to do that unless you want to bully your way through being governor,” she said in an interview with Kansas Reflector. “If you really want to do what’s in the best interests of the state, generally, a bipartisan approach is the best. Ethan’s made it very clear he’s good at that. I think Republicans will work with him.”
Holscher and Skoog, both Democrats from Overland Park, responded to comments attributed to Kelly by the Kansas City Star regarding her belief Kansas voters wouldn’t elect an “extremist” governor from the right or left in November.
Holscher’s view
Holscher, a member of the Kansas Senate, said her critics claimed she was “too anti-establishment” because she objected during the gubernatorial campaign to the state’s economic incentive package for construction of a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Kansas, and tax breaks for rapid expansion of data center facilities in Kansas.
“These aren’t extremist positions, they’re just common sense,” Holscher said. “There’s nothing extremist about standing up for working people or believing our tax dollars should work for us, not be given out to corporations.”
Holscher said that as a member of the Legislature she sought mainstream policies to moderate property taxes, expand Medicaid, fully fund K-12 public education and legalize marijuana. Kelly had expressed support for addressing these issues, but Holscher said it was noteworthy none of that agenda became law during the governor’s two terms in office.
“They’re trying to paint me as an extremist for standing up for everyday people, while they pour corporate donations into my opponent’s coffers,” Holscher said. “The insiders think that someone who stands up for regular people against big corporations can’t win in Kansas. I say they’re wrong. I’ve won four elections in red districts. I can win tough races – Ethan Corson never has.”
Holscher said placing the governor’s thumb on the scale hadn’t been enough to give Corson a lead in the Democratic primary, and it was unlikely to lead Corson to a victory against Senate President Ty Masterson, a presumed frontrunner in the GOP gubernatorial race after receiving Trump’s endorsement.
“We knew this fight was coming,” Holscher said. “They’re trying to buy this race with a corporate candidate who took money from an ICE prison builder, who doesn’t inspire anyone and won’t be able to beat the Republicans, while spreading lies and smearing my record. But I’m not standing down.”
Skoog’s take
Skoog, who is mayor of Overland Park, said he entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary in June because it was clear neither Corson nor Holscher excited the electorate. During a campaign visit to Dodge City, Skoog offered a rebuttal to Kelly’s assessment that only Corson could build a successful coalition of moderate voters in a campaign for governor.
“Governor Kelly’s analysis is half right,” Skoog said. “Democrats will not win in November with a candidate from the left wing of the party. But Ethan’s pitch to voters isn’t reaching the plate, and her early endorsement was a swing and a miss.”
Skoog said Kansas voters had been reevaluating the competition since he entered the race for governor. He said voters appreciated his work as a mayor and his record of building consensus. He narrowly won election as Overland Park mayor in 2021, but received about 70% of the vote in his reelection campaign in 2025.
“My landslide reelection last November proves that my leadership in Overland Park has been a model of moderation, working with diverse and often competing interests to govern a city that is our state’s economic engine, attracting and retaining jobs, building homes, growing our population and continuing to rank as one of the most desirable cities in the country,” he said.
He said a Democratic nominee for governor who hadn’t worked for years in the Capitol would appeal to voters across the state in November.
“The far left cannot win in November, and a tired legislative mindset won’t either,” he said. “It’s time for a new style of leadership in Topeka.”