Kansas Secretary of State running for GOP governor in 2026 for seat held by two-term Democrat
FIRST ON FOX: Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab is launching a campaign for the Democratic-held state’s governorship in 2026announcing his appearance exclusively on Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Schwab, who is he ran as a Republicanis seeking to replace Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who will serve eight years when her term ends next term.
“We must return to the values and principles that have always driven us and given me the strength to lead Topeka,” Schwab, the two-term Kansas secretary of state, said in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. “I have a proven conservative history. And a servant’s heart. It’s important that Kansas gets on the right track.”
Schwab was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2002, serving as Speaker pro tempore of the state House of Representatives before being elected Secretary of State in 2018.
Scott Schwab is running for governor of Kansas in 2026. (Schwab for Kansas)
“A Christian, a father, and a believer in the American dream. I believe that in order to do something great, you have to throw off the chains that hold you back,” Schwab said at the official launch of the campaign. “For Kansas, it’s big government, and that’s why I’m running for governor.”
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Schwab noted its compliance with President-elect Donald Trump on several key issues as one of the reasons why he is running for governor.
Specifically, Schwab noted in his first campaign ad that, if elected, he intends to stop China from buying up farmland, increase election security and lower property taxes.
Scott Schwab, who won the Republican primary for Kansas Secretary of State, addresses spectators during an election night rally on Aug. 7, 2018, in Overland Park. (John Sleezer)
The candidate, who has put his Christian faith at the center of his campaign, also noted that he wants the US to return to “the values that have always driven us.”
Although the state currently has a Democratic governor, its leadership is overwhelmingly Republican, with two Republican senators and three of the four congressional seats held by Republicans.
Kelly, a two-term governor, has hinted that she may not seek re-election in the 2026 election.
“It’s really time for me to move on and let others come and serve,” Kelly told KCUR’s Up To Date 2024.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, recently elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said the Kansas race will be a top priority for the GOP in 2026.
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“I will be very engaged, you can be assured, to ensure that my [successors] are Republicans,” Kemp, who is term-limited in the next term, told Fox News Digital.
“We’re going to work with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that happens not only in Georgia, but in other states across the country, in places like Kansas, where we now have a Democratic governor, to places like Arizona, where we have a really good chance of winning gubernatorial races, so we’re going to be on the attack.”
