Kansas gubernatorial race descends into phase dominated by attacks and counterpunches

Heavy fundraising by candidates starts to pay off with spending on commercials

By Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — Kansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson landed the campaign endorsement of a labor organization representing firefighters in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan and a dozen other cities and counties.

Matt Jackson, president of the Kansas State Council of Fire Fighters, said he was convinced Masterson would remain a “friend of Kansas firefighters.”

Masterson, who serves as president of the Kansas Senate, is among seven Republican and three Democratic candidates on the ballot in the Aug. 4 primary election. They are competing for the opportunity to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who cannot seek a third term as governor.

“When the people who run toward danger for a living put their trust in you, that means something,” said Masterson, who previously received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

He added to his collection of endorsements as campaign rivals turn up the heat of campaign commercials with negative attacks.

The Kansas Comeback political action committee, linked to GOP gubernatorial candidate Philip Sarnecki, targeted Masterson by challenging Masterson’s vote for a 2025 bill providing data center developers 20-year tax breaks if at least $250 million was invested in the project. Data centers have been controversial because opponents claim they consume huge quantities of water and energy, create noise pollution, drive up residents’ utility bills and add few permanent jobs.

The Kansas Comeback PAC’s ad also denounced Masterson for pressuring the Office of State Bank Commissioner five years ago into issuing a unique bank charter to a Texas business. In May, the CEO who led Beneficient during that period was convicted by a federal jury of securities and wire fraud.

“After 20 years in politics, Ty Masterson has mastered the game,” the ad says, “Thousands from big tech. Rewarded them with tax breaks. It doesn’t stop there. His longtime donor received a special bank charter. Masterson pushed it through.”

Sarnecki piled on by introducing a plan that would enable local units of government to make decisions about location of data centers on the condition the facilities didn’t strain water resources, increase electric bills or use of of eminent domain.

In response, Masterson said he would support legislation that blocked utility cost discounts for data center owners, protected water resources for residential use and required projects to undergo a state security review.

“Folks build here on our terms or they don’t build here,” Masterson said. “As I have always said, the final decisions on building should be left to the local communities themselves.”

Senate vote in 2008

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, who is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor, has been the subject of negative advertising by an organization tied to the conservative Club for Growth Action. The School Freedom Fund, which supports vouchers for private schools, sought to focus voters’ attention on a bill debated by the Kansas Senate in 2008, but not approved that year by the Kansas Legislature.

During consideration of the bill, Schmidt was a member of the state Senate. She voted against an amendment that would have repealed the 2004 law offering in-state tuition rates at public universities and community colleges to children of immigrants lacking documentation to be in the United States legally.

“Hard work, no handouts. That’s the Kansas way. So why did Vicki Schmidt vote the wrong way?” said the moderator on the ad, which features images of people behind bars covered in tattoos. “Allowing illegal aliens to receive public benefits. Giving away our hard-earned tax dollars. Rewarding lawbreakers, fleecing Kansans.”

Mandy Roe, a campaign spokeswoman for Schmidt, said Schmidt’s vote against the amendment was supported by a broad coalition of Kansas agriculture, religious, energy and business organizations.

“The big money out-of-state special interest attacks show Vicki’s campaign has real momentum,” Roe said.

During the 2026 legislative session, the House and Senate passed legislation repealing the in-state tuition law. It was vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly and the Legislature didn’t override her.

While the in-state tuition policy remained on the books, the measure has been challenged in a federal lawsuit endorsed by Attorney General Kris Kobach.

The meaning of bald

Scott Schwab, the Kansas secretary of state, played the lead role in a commercial for his gubernatorial campaign. It begins with Schwab rolling out of bed and standing in front of a restroom mirror. A light plays off the smooth dome of his shaved scalp. Flashing through his mind is a plan to lower the property tax burden for Kansans.

“Property taxes are killing Kansans,” said Schwab, who then offers a lighthearted take on a tax issue that has vexed the Legislature.

He labels the concept B.A.L.D., which represented “Better, Affordable Living by Decreasing property taxes.” The commercial shows Schwab sharing his idea with neighbors, who appear interested regardless of hairstyle.

Under Schwab’s proposal, voter approval would be required for large increases in property taxes. If a homeowner sold a property for less than the appraised value, the person could qualify for a tax rebate. If a person challenging a property tax assessment won a case before the Board of Tax Appeals, the appraised value of that property would be frozen for three to six years.

Schwab said the state should use revenue from sales and income taxes to buy down the statewide 20-mill property tax for public education.

“It’s time for government to put the taxpayer first,” he said. “We are pricing the American dream of home ownership out of reach for young Kansans and our senior citizens.”