First-term incumbent Kansas Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly has an unpopular president headlining her party whose policies are blamed for a 40-year high in inflation, increasing crime, and chaos on the border.
Republican challenger, three-term Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, is tied to former Gov. Sam Brownback, who has a unique distinction in these divisive days in serving as a unifier who evokes universal criticism from all strata of the partisan spectrum.
Both have millstones yoked to their campaigns but Schmidt also must contend with a third-party sniper at his right flank in state Sen. Dennis Pyle (I-Hiawatha).
A former Republican, Pyle is running as an independent, and will likely sift away votes from Schmidt in a race declared a tossup by all forecasters with neither top candidates polling more than a few percentage points apart.
That means Pyle’s and Libertarian Seth Cordell’s presence on the ballot could be decisive in determining the Kelly-Schmidt winner.
