Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Johnson County Democrat seeking the party's nomination for governor in 2026, said staff in the administration of Gov. Laura Kelly attempted to pressure Democratic lawmakers into idling their campaigns for governor so a preferred candidate could prevail. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — State Sen. Cindy Holscher expressed frustration Friday with behind-the-scene involvement of Gov. Laura Kelly’s staff in attempting to influence who launched a campaign for the Kansas Democratic Party’s nomination for governor in 2026.
Holscher, who announced her bid for governor in June, said she was among three Democrats in the Kansas Senate told by the Kelly administration to stand aside so Democratic primary voters would be more likely to nominate Lawrence attorney Chris Mann in the race to determine who would be the party’s choice to replace the term-limited Kelly.
Holscher said she as well as Sens. Dinah Sykes and Ethan Corson, also of Johnson County, were initially discouraged from impeding Mann’s path in the August 2026 primary for governor.
“All three of us were told basically ‘do not run’ because Chris Mann’s the guy,” Holscher said. “Why are insiders picking candidates? We’re being bullied, essentially.”
After the dust cleared at the end of July, Mann had chosen to launch another campaign for attorney general after narrowly losing to Republican Kris Kobach in 2022. Corson and Holscher had declared their campaigns for governor. Kelly threw her support to Corson. Lt. Gov. David Toland, at one point the presumed frontrunner in a Democratic gubernatorial race, said he wouldn’t run. Sykes remained on the sideline.
Will Lawrence, Kelly’s chief of staff, said the two-term governor met with potential Democratic candidates for governor and offered advice on how each could approach the 2026 election cycle.
“No one told them, ‘You can’t run.’ They can make their own decisions,” Lawrence said. “There’s a lot of give and take in those conversations. It was never forceful. Cindy was the one that kept coming to the governor trying to get her support. The governor kept saying, ‘I’m not going to support you in the governor’s race if that’s what you choose to do.’ The governor was very clear about that.”
Lawrence said Kelly would prefer Democrats didn’t set the stage for grueling primary battles in statewide races.
‘Gone backward’
In an interview, Holscher said it was disappointing Lawrence had participated in an effort to essentially anoint a Democratic nominee for governor.
Holscher also asserted Lawrence attempted to leverage future political support from the governor to secure Holscher’s vote for a bill altering regulation of child care facilities and exemptions to vaccination mandates. Holscher said it was concerning that Lawrence wielded financial influence over Democratic campaigns by controlling the governor’s Middle of the Road political action committee.
“This whole situation is what frustrates Democrats,” Holscher said.
She said Democrats suffered under Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate. In the Senate, the GOP edge stands at 31-9 — the same mix as in 2018. The House GOP majority is 88-37, representing the addition of three Republican representatives since 2018.
“If you take a look, you know, we’ve had the governor’s office the past seven years. We haven’t advanced in terms of growing our numbers. We’ve gone backward,” she said.
Lawrence, who has held a leadership role with the governor’s $2.3 million PAC, made a push during the 2024 elections to alter the balance of power in the Legislature. The Republican supermajority was targeted by Democrats because the GOP’s numerical advantage made it easier to override Kelly’s vetoes. Outcome of the 2024 election was a disappointment for Democrats up and down the ballot, Lawrence said.
‘Extremely disappointing’
Holscher notified Lawrence in mid-June about her views on the Kelly administration’s involvement in the development of Democratic campaigns for governor. Holscher sent a text to Lawrence, obtained by Kansas Reflector, that included a warning that Holscher would “swiftly hand over all the proof I have to the press” of the governor’s intervention in Democratic campaigns.
“I am so done with the games coming from you and the governor’s office,” Holscher’s message to Lawrence said. “I want to be very clear about something.”
Holscher vowed she would go to the media if anyone affiliated with the Kelly administration “says anything negative about me or my candidacy,” attempted to interfere with Holscher’s hiring of campaign staff or in signing up volunteers, “does so much as attempt to put a thumb on the scale in any way to interfere with this election” or made use of the Democratic Governors Association, which is led by Kelly, to “impede or negatively influence” her Democratic primary.
In the interview, Lawrence said language used by Holscher in the text could be interpreted as an attempt to intentionally gain something of value from Lawrence or Kelly against their will.
“It would be worthwhile for Cindy to take a look at the statute and reassess how she communicates with people,” Lawrence said. “Extremely disappointing behavior. Questionable behavior. Not someone who has gubernatorial temperament, who has to compromise and negotiate on things every day in this building.”
In a July social media post after Kelly embraced Corson’s candidacy for governor, Holscher offered an explanation as to why Kelly chose to support Corson.
Holscher wrote pressure had been applied by Lawrence regarding an upcoming vote during the 2025 session on House Bill 2045. It rolled back child care safety standards and tinkered with exemptions to vaccination mandates. Holscher voted against the bill, which passed the House and Senate with bipartisan votes and was signed into law by Kelly.
“I had received tons of emails from constituents adamantly opposed to the bill,” Holscher’s post said. “The gov and Will (her chief of staff), told me that if I didn’t support it, the governor’s office wouldn’t be supportive of me in future races. I wasn’t going to go against my district and the people I represent, so I voted ‘no.’ So, it looks like they are holding true to that threat.”
Lawrence said he didn’t agree with Holscher’s analysis of meetings the senator had with the governor about the legislation.
“That vote has nothing to do with the gubernatorial election,” Lawrence said.
‘Haven’t paid attention’
Holscher, elected to the House in 2016 and to the Senate in 2020, has been endorsed by former Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers. He served in Kelly’s first term before appointed to the job of Kansas state treasurer in 2021.
Corson, who entered the Senate in 2021, said in an interview at the Capitol that he appreciated Kelly’s expression of support. It was helpful to voters because Kansans wanted the kind of bipartisan, moderate leadership delivered by Kelly since sworn into office in 2019, Corson said.
He said he hadn’t taken notice of social media chatter about Holscher’s claims of how the Kelly administration handled legislators who declined to fall into line with the governor.
“I just haven’t seen any of that,” Corson said. “I haven’t paid attention to it. We’ve been out there talking to folks and trying to meet people in real life.”
Candidates lined up to take part in the Kansas Republican Party’s campaign for governor included Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, Senate President Ty Masterson, Secretary of State Scott Schwab and former Gov. Jeff Colyer.
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