Democrat Cindy Holscher's lead over Republican Ty Masterson in the Kansas governor's race grew to 7,045 votes as of Wednesday evening, Nov. 4, according to data from the Kansas Secretary of State's Office reported by the Kansas City Star.
Nearly 1.1 million ballots have been cast. The race has not been called by the Associated Press.
Holscher, a state senator from Overland Park, declared victory Wednesday morning. Masterson, the Kansas Senate president from Andover, has not conceded.
Results
Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
Cindy Holscher | Democratic | 549,974 | 50.32% |
Ty Masterson | Republican | 542,929 | 49.68% |
Totals | 1,092,903 | 100.00% |
Unofficial results as of Wednesday evening, Nov. 4, 2026. Source: Kansas Secretary of State's Office via Kansas City Star. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day arriving through Friday, Nov. 6, are still being counted.
Reporting status: The Associated Press had not called the race as of midday Wednesday. An estimated 98 percent of votes had been counted at that point. Late-arriving mail ballots pushed Holscher's lead from roughly 5,500 on election night to 7,045 by Wednesday evening, the Kansas City Star reported.
Close-race audit
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced Wednesday that the governor's race is one of six contests that triggered a close-race audit, KCTV5 reported. Under Kansas law, an audit is required when unofficial results show a margin of 1 percent or less.
County election officials will hand-count ballots in 10 percent of precincts in each of the state's 105 counties, according to a secretary of state's office release cited by the Kansas City Star. The hand count is compared with voting tabulator results to verify the totals match.
The Wichita Eagle reported Holscher's margin stood at 0.51 percent as of Wednesday afternoon. That is just above the 0.50 percent threshold below which a candidate can request a recount at the state's expense.
A source close to Masterson told the Kansas City Star on Thursday, Nov. 5, that the Republican does not plan to pursue a recount or dispute the results if Holscher's win is confirmed.
What the candidates said
In a statement reported by KWCH, Masterson acknowledged the initial numbers did not appear in his favor but stopped short of conceding.
"The first count does not seem to be going our way, but the margin is narrow enough that Kansas law calls for another look, and we'll let that process finish," Masterson said, according to KWCH.
Gov. Laura Kelly congratulated Holscher, calling her "Governor-elect" and promising a "smooth and peaceful transition of power," KWCH reported. A source close to the Holscher campaign told the Kansas City Star that Holscher met with Kelly on Wednesday to discuss the transition.
On election night, Masterson told supporters at a downtown Wichita hotel that the contest was too close to call and ended the event early, the Derby Informer reported.
What's next
Friday, Nov. 6, is the last day late-arriving mail ballots will count toward the final result, the Kansas City Star reported. Kansas is scheduled to certify its election results by Dec. 1, according to Congress Countdown.
