With the 2024 elections over and the 2026 elections on the horizon — including a gubernatorial race in Kansas — national Republicans plan to go on offense in the Sunflower State.
The Republican Governors Association announced in November that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was elected the new chair of the RGA. Kemp identified the 2026 gubernatorial race in Kansas as a priority, according to an RGA statement last week that highlighted comments Kemp made to Fox News.
“We’ll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that’s happening not only in Georgia, but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor’s races,” Kemp said. “So we’re going to be on offense.”
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has two years remaining in office, after being elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Kelly is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, taking over in August to fill the remaining term of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“Kansas presents a prime opportunity for Republicans to be on offense and to put the Kansas governorship back in Republican hands,” Courtney Alexander, an RGA spokesperson, said in a statement to The Capital-Journal. “Kansans have shown time and time again they support commonsense, conservative leadership and it’s time to return that to Topeka.”
