TOPEKA — All four of Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher successful campaigns for the Kansas Legislature were in districts distinguished by the strong influence of Republicans and independents.
Her political career began with defeat of GOP incumbent Rep. Amanda Grosserode in 2016 and reelection to that Johnson County seat in the Kansas House. Next was her 2020 campaign for a Kansas Senate seat held by retiring GOP Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, in which Holscher defeated former Republican Rep. James Todd.
Now, in her biggest electoral test, Holscher is asking red-state Kansas to make her the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor in 2026 so she can attempt to follow in footsteps of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
“It’s great training ground for a governor’s run. Of course, on the state level, you can’t just win with Democrat numbers. You have to have Republicans and independents,” Holscher said. “Kansans want commonsense solutions. That’s what it’s all about. I’m going to listen to people. I’m going to collaborate and work together with peers. I’m going to listen to the experts in terms of health care and issues like that.”
Voters of Kansas have a history of moving between Republican and Democratic governors. It began in 1965 with Republican William Avery, who was followed by Democrat Robert Docking, Republican Robert Bennett, Democrat John Carlin, Republican Mike Hayden, Democrat Joan Finney and Republican Bill Graves. From 2003 to 2011, Democrats Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson held the office. Republicans Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer were in change from 2011 to 2019, at which point Kelly was elected to back-to-back terms as governor. She leaves office in January 2027.
“I wouldn’t have entered this race if there weren’t a path to victory for me,” Holscher said during a Kansas Reflector podcast interview.
She’s competing in the August 2026 primary against state Sen. Ethan Corson, D-Fairway, and Lawrence resident Marty Tuley.
Holscher, 56, said her nine years in the Legislature and a demonstrated ability to work across the aisle to pass legislation made her a viable candidate for governor.
She said she was among a group of House members who worked to adopt a bill in 2017 to expand eligibility for Medicaid. It wasn’t implemented because the House fell a few votes shy of overcoming Brownback’s veto.
She was a founder of the Women’s Bipartisan Caucus in the Legislature that formulated a plan to repeal the Brownback administration’s 2012 decision to slash state income taxes without sufficient resources to sustain funding for core programs in education, transportation and social services.
