Former Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Scott Schwab were the most recognized Republicans running for governor in 2026 with the campaigns still in their early stages before large sums of money are dropped on television ads, a new poll shows.
The new Kansas Speaks poll by researchers at Fort Hays State University found that Colyer had the highest name ID at 35.1%, followed by Schwab at 29.1%, Senate President Ty Masterson at 25.3% and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt at 24.4%.
Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara was at 22.6%, followed by Wichita businesswoman Stacy Rogers at 19.7%, former Wichita School Board member Joy Eakins at 17.1% and Johnson County businessman Philip Sarnecki at 14.5%.
On the Democratic side of the governor’s race, state Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway was recognized by 16.6% of the Kansans surveyed. State Sen. Cindy Holscher of Overland Park was at 15.7%. Political newcomer Marty Tuley of Lawrence was at 16.2%.
Corson is largely running with the support of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and recently completed a campaign swing through western Kansas.
He also has a seasoned campaign team in place that includes a media strategist, a mail consultant and a digital strategist.
The makeup of Holscher’s campaign team is not clear as the campaign moves into 2026, while Tuley said he is running his campaign by committee at this point.
The survey interviewed 526 Kansas adults, including 35.9% who were Republicans, 20.7% who were Democrats and 37.4% who were independents. The balance didn’t identify with a party.
The poll was done before many ads have been run in the campaign, although Colyer got up on television earlier this year with the help of a group called Kansas 1st, formed as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is not required to disclose its donors.
Earlier this year, Kansas 1st spent about $185,000 running an ad on television, according to the national ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The group spent $128,484 on cable television and another $56,594 on satellite television, according to data provided by AdImpact.
The ad featured President Donald Trump referring to Colyer as a man with “incredible integrity and class” and called him “one hell of a governor.”
Eakins also has been running ads on streaming services that have been funded by a 501(c)(4) organization formed by her husband called Engage Kansas.
Sarnecki also has been running digital ads urging the Kansas Legislature to draw new election districts in a special session.
There’s also the factor of a Trump endorsement, which could easily swing the Republican primary in someone’s favor very quickly.
Critics also point out that the same pollster showed Trump leading Democrat Kamala Harris in Kansas by five percentage points last year. He won the state by 16 points.
Kansans who were surveyed were asked about their impression of each candidate.
Among Republican candidates for governor, the rate of positive impressions was highest for Eakins at 53.9%, although her name recognition was only 17.1% when the survey was conducted.
About 46.2% of those polled said they were positively impressed by Schmidt, followed by Colyer at 44.8%, Schwab at 42.3%, O’Hara at 37.5% and Masterson at 36.4%. Rogers was at 37.6%, the poll said.
Holscher was seen positively by 42.7% of those polled, while Corson was viewed favorably by 39.2%.
Colyer was seen by positively by the largest share of those polled who identified as Republican with 65%, followed by 64.4% for Schwab, 61.2% for Sarnecki, 60% for Schmidt, 57.6% for Eakins and 52% for Masterson.
Eakins was viewed positively by 47.9% of independents followed by 38.3% for Schmidt, 35.3% for O’Hara and 29.7% for Masterson.
Ironically, Masterson, Eakins and O’Hara are all running as conservatives, while Schmidt aligns more with moderate Republicans.
On the Democratic side, Holscher was viewed positively by 57.4% of the Democrats interviewed compared to 46.3% for Corson and 50.9% for Tuley.
In other poll findings:
Elected officials: 47% said they were satisfied with the performance of Gov. Laura Kelly, and 27.3% were dissatisfied. About 44% were satisfied with President Donald Trump, and 46.2% were dissatisfied. About 35% of respondents were satisfied with the Kansas Supreme Court, and 21.1% were dissatisfied. About 34% of respondents were satisfied with the Kansas legislature, and 31.2% were dissatisfied. About 21% of those polled were satisfied with the U.S. Congress, and 55% were dissatisfied.
Child care: About 91% of those polled believed that high-quality, affordable infant and toddler child care was extremely or highly important for families in Kansas, regardless of whether they had young children. About 7% felt it was slightly important or not important at all. And about 86% of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that access to affordable child care strengthened the economy. About 3% disagreed. About 76% strongly or somewhat agreed that the federal government should pass laws to expand access to affordable child care. About 78% strongly or somewhat agreed that state government should pass laws to expand access to affordable child care. And 75% strongly or somewhat agreed that local government should pass laws expanding access to affordable child care.
Water conservation: About 37% of those surveyed felt state government wasn’t doing enough for water conservation in their part of Kansas. About 37% felt the efforts from the state were the right amount, and 6.1% thought they were too much. About 73% of respondents considered that state government investment in water conservation to be highly or extremely important, while about 3% didn’t think it was important. About
56% strongly agreed or agreed that Kansas farmers would need to make changes to their farming practices due to declining water levels; 7.1% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Medical marijuana: About 65% of those polled were highly or somewhat likely to vote for a candidate who supported medical marijuana legalization as they decided who to vote to represent them in the Kansas Legislature. Sixteen percent said they were unlikely.
Abortion: About 72% of respondents agreed that women are in a better position than politicians to make their own choices about whether to get an abortion, while 13% disagreed. About 60% of respondents agreed that the Kansas government should not place any regulations on the circumstances under which women can get abortions, while about 25% disagreed.
Foreign land ownership: About 33% of respondents were very concerned about foreign land ownership, 25.7% moderately concerned and 20.6% slightly concerned.
