By Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt launched Wednesday a campaign to win the Republican Party’s nomination for governor.
Schmidt worked for more than four decades as a pharmacist and served in the Kansas Senate for 14 years before elected state insurance commissioner in 2018. She was reelected in 2022 by a margin of more than 250,000 votes out of nearly 1 million ballots cast.
“Throughout my personal and professional career, I have a track record of serving Kansans and actually getting things done,” Schmidt said in a statement. “If elected governor, my top priority is the people of Kansas and making their lives better.”
“I’m not always going to tell you what you want to hear, but I am going to tell you the truth,” she said.
Schmidt joined other prominent Republicans, including former Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Scott Schwab, in the GOP primary scheduled for August 2026.
Colyer, who became governor in 2018 after Gov. Sam Brownback resigned to take a position in the first administration of President Donald Trump, said Schmidt’s candidacy wouldn’t deter his effort to unite the Kansas GOP behind a pro-Trump agenda.
“Welcome to the race, Vicki Schmidt,” Colyer’s statement said. “Never Trumpers deserve a candidate, too.”
In addition, Schwab responded to Schmidt’s entrance into the governor’s race by saying, “Kansans want a conservative who can win in November, deliver true property tax relief and help our shrinking rural communities.”
Interest in the 2026 contest for Kansas governor will be driven by two-term Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s inability to seek reelection.
Schmidt said that as insurance commissioner she advanced regulatory reforms to lower business costs by more than $75 million. She asserted she was known for “her work ethic, scrutiny of government operations and customer service approach to serving Kansans.”
“Every Kansan deserves a governor they can rely on to not only tackle the big issues, but the little things like actually having people answer the phone when you call for help,” she said.
In 2023, she publicly shared her diagnosis of breast cancer and made use of the personal health challenge to encourage women to get yearly mammograms. Her cancer was treated through surgery and radiation.
“The biggest challenge of my life? Beating breast cancer,” she said. “It was scary and humbling. The support I received from Kansans during my darkest days has continued to drive me in my support for them.”
In terms of the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination, Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, announced her candidacy. Other Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes of Lenexa, expressed interest in seeking the nomination.
Johanna Warshaw, spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, said Schmidt’s entrance into the race helped transform the “already messy and crowded GOP primary into extreme chaos.” Kelly, the Kansas governor, is chair of DGA.
“Schmidt brings to this race a disastrous and disqualifying record of voting to enact Sam Brownback’s failed tax experiment,” Warshaw said. “On the other hand, Governor Laura Kelly has shown Kansans what steady, middle-of-the-road leadership looks like. That’s exactly the type of leadership Kansans will want to stick with no matter who enters the race.”
