It’s official.
Senate President Ty Masterson rolled out his campaign for governor Sunday, unveiling a new website along with holding a “special announcement” at an event in Wichita.
Masterson’s candidacy brings to eight the number of Republicans who have announced plans to run for governor in 2026 with at least one or two more candidates expected.
“As president of the Kansas Senate, I’m proud of what we have done for the people of Kansas,” Masterson said in a statement posted on his website.
“We’ve cut taxes by nearly $2 billion. We’ve shut down wokeness by banning DEI in our higher education system, men from competing in women’s sports, and transgender surgeries for minors.
“And we’ve preserved the integrity of our elections with commonsense measures to protect the ballot box,” he said.
But he added, there’s more to accomplish.
“After taking the fight to (Gov.) Laura Kelly in the Legislature, I’ve seen that the big change comes from the big seat. But big change will take more than talk.
“It will take a proven fighter who knows exactly what this moment demands.”
As Senate president, the Legislature passed bills over Kelly’s veto to eliminate the three-day grace period for advance mail ballots to arrive at election offices.
The Legislature also passed bills limiting collection and delivery of advanced ballots to election offices and imposing new signature requirements for mail ballots – both of which ran into legal trouble.
Lawmakers also banned surgery and the use of puberty blockers for treating transgender children in Kansas.
They also banned transgender female athletes from competing in interscholastic sports for women or girls at any public school or postsecondary educational institution.
The Legislature also passed a bill that will gradually lower income taxes over time until the state moves to a single tax rate. It also eliminated the state’s 1.5-mill property tax levy that funds maintenance and renovations of some state buildings.
The cut in property taxes was seen as not enough and was even criticized by Republican gubernatorial rival Scott Schwab, the Kansas secretary of state.
After last year’s legislative session, Schwab – without mentioning anyone by name – said that “legislative leaders” didn’t do enough to lower property taxes.
“Kansans expected leadership that would address runaway property tax increases, arrest out-of-control valuations, and restore confidence that they can afford the homes they live in – not rent them from the government,” he said at the time.
Schwab said “leadership” promised voters that cutting property taxes would be one of the first bills out of the gate this year. “But when it came time to lead, both the governor and leadership came up short.”
Masterson reflected on the tax cut after the session concluded.
“I will concede that I wish we could have done more,” Masterson said after the session.
“The problem is the state doesn’t have a lot of say in property tax,” he said.
“We literally removed all the state-imposed property tax,” he said. “I think we did, from our perspective, what we could do.”
In 2024, the Legislature came to an agreement with the governor on a tax bill that lowered income taxes and moved the state to a two-tiered tax system.
There were efforts to cap property tax appraisals, but the Senate and House could not agree on a bill. The Senate did pass a bill limiting property tax appraisals, but the bill never passed on the other side of the rotunda.
Masterson, now in his second term as the Senate president, has been considered a likely candidate for governor for months with expectations that he was going to announce as early as May or June.
The 55-year-old Andover Republican has been in the Kansas Senate since 2009 and previously served in the Kansas House for two terms. He also was on the Andover city commission.
He was the founding chair of the Truth Caucus in 2017, which he led through 2020, in a coalition of more than conservative 60 legislators from both chambers of the Legislature.
He also served as the national chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
He also leads GoCreate, a creative community workspace at Wichita State University that is open to creators of all ages and experiences and gets funding from Koch Industries.
In 2010, Masterson filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, following the failure of his business, Masterbuilt Homes, in 2006, according to a published report.
He was asked about the bankruptcy in 2012 when he became chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Masterson told the Wichita Eagle that his financial trouble started with an employee who mismanaged projects and made unauthorized charges.
He told the newspaper that it provided him some personal perspective on the difficult times many people can face amid state and national economic turmoil.
“Who better to lead out of the forest than somebody who has seen a lot of the pitfalls,” he told the Eagle.
Masterson’s candidacy furthers muddles the Republican field for governor with most of the eight candidates trying to carve out a conservative, Trumpian lane for themselves.
The field also includes former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, former Wichita School board member Joy Eakins, former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, Wichita businesswoman Stacy Rogers and conservative podcaster Doug Billings.
There is concern in some quarters that with so many conservatives chipping away at their own base, it could open the door for a more moderate candidate like Schmidt, who amassed more votes than any other Republican in the 2022 and 2018 elections.
