Kansas Primary Results Show Why Voters Need More Choices

TOPEKA, Kan. — The results of Tuesday’s Kansas primary show a political system that is not producing candidates supported by a majority of voters.

Ty Masterson won the Republican nomination for governor with about 43% of the vote. Nearly 57% of Republican primary voters chose someone else.

Cindy Holscher won the Democratic nomination with just under 49%. More than half of Democratic primary voters also voted for another candidate.

Combined, about 55% of Kansans who voted in the two gubernatorial primaries did not vote for either of the two candidates who will represent the major parties in November.

“That should concern all of us,” said Rob Hodgkinson, state chair of the Libertarian Party of Kansas. “The two major parties are giving Kansas two candidates who were not supported by a majority of their own primary voters, and then they will spend the next three months telling everyone those are our only choices.”

The Republican primary also showed what can happen in a crowded plurality election. Republicans had several qualified Kansas candidates, including Vicki Schmidt, Phil Sarnecki and Stacy Rogers. But national endorsements, party factions and vote splitting helped produce a nominee with only 43% support.

“This is not an attack on Republican voters or Democratic voters,” Hodgkinson said. “The problem is the system. It rewards the strongest faction instead of requiring candidates to earn broad support.”

Kansas voters sent a much clearer message on the proposed constitutional amendment concerning the Kansas Supreme Court. The amendment, strongly supported by Republican leaders, was rejected by approximately 61% of voters. Only about 39% voted yes.

“The clearest majority result Tuesday was Kansas voters saying no to putting even more partisan politics into state government,” Hodgkinson said. “The political establishment may not be listening, but Kansas voters are speaking.”

The Libertarian Party does not have a candidate in the governor’s race. The system is heavily tilted toward the two major parties, making statewide campaigns especially difficult for third parties.

But Libertarians are not sitting out the November election.

Every Kansas voter will have at least four Libertarian candidates on the ballot: candidates for U.S. Senate, state treasurer, commissioner of insurance and one of Kansas’ four congressional districts. Some voters will have additional Libertarian candidates in state legislative races and local county commission races. View candidates and download statewide voter guide here: https://www.lpks.org/candidates.

“The Republican and Democratic parties are not the only choices,” Hodgkinson said. “Every Kansan will have several opportunities this November to vote for something different.”

The Libertarian Party of Kansas supports fair ballot access and election reforms that require candidates to build broader support, including ranked-choice voting or runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority.