Governor Laura Kelly has won her bid for another term in office. On Wednesday morning, NBC projected Kelly will win re-election over Derek Schmidt. CNN also called the race for her.
With 98% of state votes reporting, Gov. Kelly had 49.15% of the vote, a lead of 1.4% (slightly less than 14,000 votes) over Republican challenger Derek Schmidt.
Kelly was the only Democratic governor running for reelection this year in a state carried by former President Donald Trump in 2020. Schmidt, the state's three-term attorney general, tied Kelly to President Joe Biden and blamed the two Democrats for high inflation.
Gov. Kelly released a victory statement after several news agencies declared her the winner, saying her first four years as governor were about getting Kansas back on track.
“These next four years are about taking Kansas to the next level,” she said. “These next four years are about making sure Kansas lives up to its potential as the very best place in America to raise a family.”
Advance voting before Tuesday suggested the turnout would exceed the unusually high number of ballots cast for the August election on the abortion question.
Independent and moderate Republicans were key, having swung to Kelly in 2018 in her race against then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Schmidt hoped to win them back, but his effort was complicated by a challenge from his right from an independent candidate, state Sen. Dennis Pyle, one of the Legislature's most conservative members.
Kelly's fundraising for her reelection campaign approached $8 million, while Schmidt raised about $4 million in cash contributions, though in late October the Kansas GOP was paying for mailings for him. Spending on television ads by the candidates and outside groups exceeded $40 million.
Kelly ran as the self-described “education governor,” touting higher spending on public schools, the state’s improved finances and efforts to lure businesses to the state.
Republicans won three other statewide races. State Rep. Steven Johnson unseated Democratic State Treasurer Lynn Rogers, and Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt were reelected.
Kansans voted yes to keeping six justices on the state Supreme Court for another six years, even though five were targeted for removal by the state's most influential anti-abortion group. The court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is protected by the Kansas Constitution.
Finally, voters approved a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution making it harder to remove county sheriffs from office.