Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher to face off in Kansas governor’s race

NBC News projects that Masterson, the state Senate president, emerged from the primary in a contest that represents a top pickup opportunity for the GOP this fall.

Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson will face Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher in Kansas’ election for governor this fall, NBC News projects, setting up a contest that represents the GOP’s best gubernatorial pickup opportunity this year.

Both candidates won their respective primaries on Tuesday. Masterson rode an endorsement from President Donald Trump to emerge from a crowded GOP field, while Holscher focused on a progressive, anti-establishment message to defeat a fellow state Sen. Ethan Corson, who was backed by term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Holscher pitched herself in ads as someone who “gets that working people are tired of being sold out by both parties.” She also made her support for a proposed moratorium on new data center construction a big part of her message.

Corson massively outspent Holscher in the primary, and leaned heavily on his support from Kelly, who won two terms in a state Trump won by double digits in the past three presidential contests.

One of his recent TV ads featured Kelly praising him as someone who can “stand up to Trump and ICE” and has the “strength and judgement and backbone” for the state’s top job. Another ad, run by a pro-Corson PAC called Heartland Priorities, showed Kelly lauding Corson for having a “record of standing up for Kansas values” and for “stepping up and fighting back” against Trump.