Cindy Holscher held a 5,872-vote lead over Ty Masterson in the Kansas governor’s race after the latest count from the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, with ballots still to be added. The Democrat was ahead with 546,523 votes, or 50.3%, while Masterson had 540,651 votes, or 49.7%.
Out of 1.08 million votes cast, the margin remained narrow enough that two precincts, provisional ballots and mail ballots arriving by Friday could still change the result. The race is set to decide who follows Laura Kelly as governor of Kansas.
Johnson County and Wichita
Holscher told supporters in Johnson County that she expected the final count to hold. “There are just a few more votes that need to be counted, but we are confident that once all the votes are counted, we will win,” she said. She added, “We knocked on doors in every corner of this state. We made the calls. We showed up, no matter the weather or the circumstances. And because of you, we feel really, really good about where we are right now.”
Masterson, the Andover Republican and president of the Kansas Senate, gave a different reading of the night in Wichita. “Oh, man,” he said before adding, “It’s just way to close to call. I just wanted to close this down tonight because there’s obviously not going to be either a concession speech or a victory speech. What I’m afraid is we’re gonna have lawyers involved in this thing.”
Late count in Kansas
The remaining vote included two precincts, provisional ballots and mail ballots that were still arriving by Friday. That means the final spread could move in either direction once the count is finished, though Holscher’s current lead gives her the advantage heading into the last tabulation.
Masterson won the GOP nomination in August after Donald Trump backed his candidacy. Holscher, an Overland Park state senator, won the primary after Laura Kelly first endorsed Ethan Corson and then switched to Holscher. The latest numbers leave the race open until the final ballots are added, and both campaigns are now waiting on the count rather than the crowd.
