TOPEKA — Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson of Andover entered the race for governor on Sunday as the 2026 Republican primary field gets more crowded.
Republicans want to recapture the governor’s office in GOP-leaning Kansas after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won a second four-year term in 2022. Kelly is term-limited and cannot run again.
Masterson, a small-business owner, has been a state senator representing Andover since 2009. He became Senate president in 2021. He previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008.
Other Republicans in the 2026 governor's race include Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who built his public profile pushing back against unfounded election conspiracy theories; Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, and former Gov. Jeff Colyer.
Colyer was elevated to the office for about a year in 2018 after former Gov. Sam Brownback resigned. He failed to get past the primary in that year's gubernatorial election, then entered the 2022 governor's race but dropped out early after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Masterson made his announcement at an event in Wichita on Sunday. If elected governor, Masterson says he would be a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and aim to cut property taxes.
“But it’s not just property tax," he said. "We’re a high-tax state, and we need to reduce it until we’re underneath our neighbors.”
