Kansas Governor Voter Guide: Holscher and Masterson on Property Taxes and School Vouchers
Two candidates are on the ballot for governor of Kansas on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026: Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson. The seat is open because Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly cannot seek a third consecutive term, KMBC reported.
The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares the two side by side on property taxes and school vouchers. Here is where each one stands, based on the video, the candidates' own words and Kansas reporting.
Private school tax credits have been debated at the Statehouse this year. In April, Kelly vetoed House Bill 2468, which raises the cap on the state's tax credit scholarship program for low-income students attending private schools and opts Kansas into a new federal scholarship tax credit. The bill had passed the Senate 27-12 and the House 76-44, the Kansas Reflector reported. Kelly wrote that the state "must prioritize meaningful increases in Special Education funding over expanding the private school tax credit program." ACE Scholarships, a scholarship group that backed the bill, said the Legislature later overrode the veto.
Cindy Holscher (Democrat)
Holscher is a state senator from Overland Park who represents the 8th District. She served two terms in the Kansas House before being elected to the Senate in 2020, and she worked at Sprint for more than a decade before joining the Legislature, according to her Kansas Senate Democrats biography. Her running mate is state Rep. KC Ohaebosim, KMBC reported.
On property taxes, the video says Holscher believes fully funding special education would ease local property taxes. "Special education hasn't been fully funded since 2011. When we don't meet the obligation there, it gets shuffled to the local level, and property taxes go up," she told KMBC. She would lower the share of a home's value that is taxed, the residential assessment rate, from 11.5% to 9%, KSHB reported, a change the Kansas News Service said would take a constitutional amendment. She also wants to expand homestead exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans, according to KSHB, and has said the state must "stop the giveaways to billionaires." Her campaign website lists cutting property taxes as a top priority.
On school vouchers, the video says Holscher opposes them because they take resources away from public schools, a position KMBC also reported. Her campaign website says she "has consistently blocked extremist efforts to cut public school funding and expand private school vouchers" and credits her with helping secure $500 million in new public school funding. At the September debate at the Kansas State Fair, she called for the state to invest more in public schools to ease the local tax burden, the Kansas Reflector reported.
Ty Masterson (Republican)
Masterson, of Andover, is president of the Kansas Senate and represents the 16th District. He has served in the Legislature since 2009 and got his start in politics on the Andover City Council, KMBC reported. His campaign website says he was born and raised in Butler County. His running mate is state Sen. Jeff Klemp, KMBC reported.
On property taxes, the video says Masterson wants to limit how much property tax revenue local governments can collect. "We're in a property tax crisis in this state, literally taxing people out of their homes," he told KMBC. His Homeowners Bill of Rights starts with a constitutional amendment asking voters to cap property taxes, KSHB reported; the Kansas News Service reported it would cap the annual growth of taxable assessed value at 3% or less. The plan would also require local governments to get taxpayers' consent for an "unreasonable" budget increase and would freeze or reduce property tax bills for seniors, according to KSHB. KMBC reported he helped negotiate a bill this year that would have restricted increases in local property tax collections, which Kelly vetoed.
On school vouchers, the video says Masterson is open to them so parents have more options. KMBC reported he believes parents should have more options if their neighborhood schools are not meeting their children's needs. At the State Fair debate, he said he supports private school vouchers because it is not fair to leave students whose only option is a failing school, the Kansas Reflector reported. He has also called for literacy reforms modeled on Mississippi's and told KMBC, "You won't see cuts in K-12 education, but you will see allocation changes." His campaign website does not list a position on school vouchers.
Where to Follow the Candidates
Cindy Holscher: @cindy4kansas on X and @cindyforkansas on TikTok. Ty Masterson: @TyMastersonKS on X.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: KMBC, "Kansas governor's race: Where Cindy Holscher and Ty Masterson stand on the issues" (Oct. 16, 2026): https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-governor-race-2026-holscher-masterson-key-issues/74103602 ; KMBC, Kansas state executive races on the November 2026 ballot (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-state-executive-races-november-2026-ballot/74148886 ; Kansas News Service via KCUR, "In race for Kansas governor, Masterson and Holscher focus on taxes and education funding" (Oct. 13, 2026): https://www.kcur.org/2026-10-13/in-race-for-kansas-governor-masterson-and-holscher-focus-on-taxes-and-education-funding ; Kansas Reflector, State Fair debate (Sept. 12, 2026): https://kansasreflector.com/2026/09/12/in-scorching-kansas-state-fair-debate-governor-candidates-fight-over-taxes-data-centers-vouchers/ ; Kansas Reflector, "Kansas governor vetoes tax credit programs for private schools" (April 6, 2026): https://kansasreflector.com/2026/04/06/kansas-governor-vetoes-tax-credit-programs-for-private-schools/ ; Kansas Secretary of State, Governor's veto message on House Bill 2468: https://sos.ks.gov/publications/sessionlaws/2026/Messages-08-HB-2468.html ; ACE Scholarships statement (April 10, 2026): https://www.acescholarships.org/ace-news/ace-scholarships-praises-kansas-legislatures-override-of-veto-on-school-choice/ ; KSHB, Masterson property tax plan: https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/trump-endorsed-ty-masterson-releases-property-tax-plan-in-crowded-kansas-gubernatorial-field ; Kansas Senate Democrats, Sen. Cindy Holscher: https://www.kssenatedems.org/cindy-holscher ; Cindy Holscher campaign, Issues: https://www.cindyforkansas.com/issues ; Ty Masterson campaign: https://www.mastersonforgovernor.com/
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