Half the people who have at least one foot in the race for the open Kansas governor’s spot are from Johnson County. The other half come from Sedgwick County, the state’s second-most-populous county.
So expect to hear a lot about farm upbringings and small-town life as an already full roster competes for a chance to replace outgoing Gov. Laura Kelly. Some of it has already begun on websites and in appearances, with a year to go before the Aug. 4, 2026, primaries.
Some candidates and their supporters acknowledge that coming from a city in a state with so much rural acreage can add some challenges, especially for Johnson County candidates.
Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, one of the Republican candidates, says she can attest.
“After traveling extensively in Kansas west of Douglas County, JoCo does not play well,” she said. “However, when talking to people about the kitchen table issues of property taxes, schools and corporate welfare, I have found great support. I was raised on a farm in Bourbon County, that helps, and Scott Schwab will emphasize being raised in Great Bend.”
Having so many Johnson County candidates is somewhat of a quirk, and probably due to the fact that each of them has a personal reason and can see a way to win, she said.
“This has not happened by design by any stretch of the imagination, it just happened,” O’Hara said. “It will be interesting to watch this all unfold as we go forward.”
Cindy Holscher, one of two Democratic candidates from Johnson County, kicked off her campaign with an event in Lenexa on Wednesday.
As Susan Fitzgerald, a volunteer coordinator for the campaign, pitched the about 250 people for their support, she stressed the importance of getting the word out beyond Johnson County.
“I hate to say it. I think there’s a little bit of bias (against) Johnson County,” she said.
Afterward, Holscher said she’s convinced attitudes are changing, and she has the record and background to win.
“I would not have entered if I didn’t feel there was a path to victory for me,” she said. “Being from a farm helps me in the rural areas, and the fact that I’m the only Democrat that wins in a red area, that takes a different skill set.”
Holscher acknowledged bias in the past, but “I feel like that’s changed quite a bit, and that’s partly because of the fact that people across the state have kids or grandkids now that live in Johnson County. So that helps change the perception.”
Kansans have switched often between Republican and Democratic governors, but the Johnson County candidates do not have history on their side. The last Johnson County Republican to serve as governor was Robert Frederich Bennett, a former Prairie Village mayor and city councilmember who served 50 years ago, from 1975-79.
For Democrats, it’s been a much longer time. The state archives list George Hartshorn Hodges, a former Olathe mayor and councilmember, as the last Democrat from the county to be elected governor. He served from 1913-15, when women’s suffrage was the hot political topic of the day.
Twelve people have announced their candidacies for governor and have filed notice of appointing a campaign treasurer with the state governmental ethics commission. Only one, Doug Billings of Olathe, has so far filed as an official candidate. Republicans have the most crowded primary so far, with eight candidates.
Doug Billings (Republican)
Background: Billings, of Olathe, worked 23 years as a human resources specialist, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2021, he started “The Right Side with Doug Billings” podcast. He received degrees in communication studies, curriculum and instruction.
Issues: Billings has fully embraced the MAGA philosophy. On his webpage, he describes himself as someone who will bring “a fierce MAGA conservative vision to the Kansas Governor’s race.”
Among his goals: a tougher ban on foreign ownership of Kansas land; recognizing gold and silver as legal currency; attract SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force to Kansas; investigating election integrity issues and Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s decisions on ballot destruction; eliminate electronic voting machines and replace with paper ballots; make Election Day a paid holiday.
Other issues: Billings’ candidacy has been thrown into question because his choice for lieutenant governor, April McCoy, has withdrawn after a falling out with him over ethical issues. According to Kansas law, the governor and lieutenant governor must run as a ticket.
Schwab has asked for an attorney general’s opinion on whether Billings can remain a candidate, according to the Sunflower State Journal.
Campaign: Billings’ campaign website can be found here.
Jeff Colyer (Republican)
Background: Colyer is a physician with a plastic surgery practice in Overland Park. He served in the Kansas House from 2006 to 2009 and the state senate from 2009 to 2011. Colyer was lieutenant governor under Sam Brownback from 2011 to 2018 and became governor after Brownback resigned to become U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. He withdrew from the 2022 primary after a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Small-town connection: Grew up in Hays.
Issues: Colyer says he’ll bring more affordable living, lower taxes, and high-paying manufacturing and tech jobs to the state, while supporting farmers and small businesses. He also pledges to strengthen parental rights in schools. “I’ll get the woke out of our schools,” he said during an announcement video. “No doctor will ever mutilate a child to change their gender in Kansas.”
Campaign: Colyer’s campaign website can be found here.
Ethan Corson (Democrat)
Background: Corson, of Fairway, has been a Kansas state senator since 2021. Prior to that, he was chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He also has been a former executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party.
Small-town connection: On his website, Corson mentions attending Garden City Community College on a baseball scholarship, before moving to Washington University in St. Louis for a law degree.
Issues: Corson emphasizes “kitchen table” issues like eliminating the sales tax on food and taxes on Social Security income. He also vows to cut property taxes and provide targeted relief for older adults and disabled veterans. He has also said he’d support expanding a property tax rebate program for older adults and disabled veterans.
Campaign: Corson’s campaign website can be found here.
Cindy Holscher (Democrat)
Background: Holscher, of Overland Park, has experience in advertising as a marketing director, according to her LinkedIn page. She was elected to the Kansas House in 2016, and the Kansas Senate in 2020.
Small-town connection: Born in Slater, Missouri, Holscher’s stump speech includes references to her father, a farmer and construction worker, and her mother, a school janitor.
Issues: Holscher talks about her work opposing the fiscal policies of former Gov. Sam Brownback. She co-founded the women’s bipartisan caucus and worked for fully funding Kansas schools, infrastructure and affordable healthcare. She pledges to continue bipartisan efforts to fund education, lower the cost of childcare and healthcare, and to work for tax relief for families, as well as supporting farmers and small businesses.
Campaign: Holscher’s campaign website can be found here.
Charlotte O’Hara (Republican)
Background: O’Hara, of Overland Park, served on the Johnson County Commission from 2021 to 2025 and in the Kansas House from 2011 to 2013. O’Hara replaced Republican Rep. Ray Merrick, who took over Colyer’s state Senate seat when Colyer became lieutenant governor.
She also has a background as a contractor, teacher and commercial property owner.
Small-town connection: O’Hara was raised on a farm in Bourbon County.
Issues: As a county commissioner, O’Hara was a frequent critic of tax incentives for developers particularly for high-profile projects like the Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant near De Soto. She also opposes incentives to bring professional sports teams to Kansas and has fought county diversity initiatives. On her website, she says she’ll support spending cuts like those of the federal Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). She says Kansas judges should be chosen through partisan elections, rather than the “leftist tyranny” of the Kansas Bar Association.
Campaign: O’Hara’s campaign website can be found here.
Scott Schwab (Republican)
Background: Schwab, of Overland Park, has a background as a small-business owner. He was elected to the Kansas House in 2002 and served for several years before running for Secretary of State in 2018. He was re-elected to that office in 2022.
Small-town connection: Schwab grew up in Great Bend.
Issues: As the state’s overseer of elections, Schwab lists protecting election integrity and requiring voter ID as top priorities and accomplishments.
Schwab became embroiled in a controversy with former Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden in 2024 over destruction of county ballots from 2019 to 2021. The ballot destruction was required by state law, but Hayden had asked they be preserved for his long-running investigation into past elections. Schwab said the law required destruction of the ballots, and, lacking a valid search warrant, county officials went ahead with it.
Other priorities on Schwab’s website include jobs and tax cuts, banning Communist China from buying land near military bases, enforcing immigration and Second Amendment laws, and “protecting women’s sports.”
Campaign: Schwab’s campaign website can be found here.
Candidates from outside Johnson County
There are also well-known candidates who are not from Johnson County. They are:
- Joy Eakins (Republican), former school board member from Wichita. Campaign website here.
- Ty Masterson (Republican), Kansas Senate president, from Andover, a Wichita suburb. Campaign website here.
- Stacy Rogers (Republican), small business owner from Wichita. Campaign website here.
- Vicki Schmidt (Republican), Kansas State Insurance Commissioner, Wichita. Campaign website here.
- Marty Tuley (Democrat), teacher from Lawrence. Campaign website here.
- Brandon Adams of Auburn has appointed a treasurer, but so far has no campaign website yet.
