Derek Schmidt Sails Through Kansas GOP Governor’s Primary, Setting Up Face-Off with Democrat Gov. Kelly

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt won the Republican primary race for governor in his state on Tuesday and will now compete in the general election against incumbent Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly.

Schmidt breezed through the primary, garnering 80 percent of the vote with 79 percent of precincts reporting at the time of this publishing, according to the New York Times race results. Kelly, too, easily won her primary with 94 percent of the vote and 92 percent of precincts reporting, per the Times’ results.

Schmidt, a native Kansan who has served as attorney general since 2011, thanked his supporters in a statement after his victory, saying it is an “honor to join the ranks of those few Kansans who have had the privilege of carrying the nomination” and that he is “humbled and mindful of the trust” that had been placed in him.

Schmidt said of Kelly:

Kansas needs a new governor – one who didn’t hurt our kids by rushing to lock them out of school, who won’t trail far behind the nation in recovering jobs her lockdowns destroyed, and who never again will lose $700 million to unemployment fraud while utterly failing to help thousands of out-of-work Kansans in their time of greatest need.

Schmidt will face Kelly with the backing of former President Donald Trump, as well as former Kansas congressman and Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Kelly is viewed as one of the Democrat incumbent governors most vulnerable to losing her seat this year.

The Kansas Democrat represents a solid red state that Trump won by nearly 15 points in 2020. Both Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the race a “toss-up.”

Taking a moderate tone and evoking what has typically been Republican priorities of education, the economy, and crime, Kelly said in a statement Tuesday night after her win, “Join me as we continue to put Kansas on the path forward, with stronger schools, an economy that just keeps going … and safe communities where neighbors help neighbors.”