By: Anna Kaminski
Kansas Reflector
OVERLAND PARK — Name-calling and infighting dominated a Republican gubernatorial debate Friday that was preceded by campaigns trying to convince opponents to drop out of the race.
Senate President Ty Masterson called businessman Philip Sarnecki an “angry elf.” Sarnecki blamed Masterson for the state’s budget issues. Former Johnson County commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and Secretary of State Scott Schwab stayed out of the line of fire, focusing on their policy priorities.
Click here to watch a replay of the debate
The candidates are among seven Republicans seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly when she completes her second term in January.
In the lead-up to the debate sponsored by the Kansas GOP, candidates traded barbs indirectly in interviews and on social media, and Sarnecki sparked rumors Masterson may not show.
But he did, fresh from a May 24 endorsement from President Donald Trump, which he mentioned at least seven times during the debate, prompting audience laughter on the last mention.
The barbs didn’t cease onstage at the Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.
At one point, Masterson called Sarnecki “a bit of an angry elf,” claiming he was upset Masterson received Trump’s endorsement.
During the first question, about data center regulation, Masterson called Sarnecki a “Democrat plant.”
“The more I learn about my friend Phil, the more I think he’s a Democrat plant,” Masterson said.
Sarnecki acknowledged recently publicized connections between him and Democrats. He said he donated $250 once to a Democratic insurance commissioner candidate. He asked viewers to pay heed to the timeline. The accusations came right after Sarnecki turned down an offer from Masterson’s campaign to be lieutenant governor, he said. The audience applauded his defense.
O’Hara said in her campaign newsletter Tuesday that Sarnecki tried to shoo her out of the race by offering her a position as education secretary.
On the issues
Most candidates favored local control and limits on data centers to ensure companies pay their fair share in taxes. O’Hara promised a moratorium on data centers in the state in her first 60 days.
O’Hara and Sarnecki voiced their disapproval for the Kansas City Chiefs deal that lured the football team from Missouri with record-breaking tax breaks for a new stadium, headquarters and training facility while Masterson and Schwab defended the deal as a major job growth opportunity.
“The deal was way too sweet,” O’Hara said.
Sarnecki said the deal wasn’t negotiated well.
“To make this deal try to work, do you want the business person doing it or do you want the career politician doing it?” he said.
Masterson touted the promise of hundreds of millions of income tax revenue from the NFL.
John Holt of FOX 4, who moderated the Nexstar Media-hosted debate, offered candidates a multiple choice question on property taxes. Did they favor a cap on appraisal increases, a voter-endorsed block on mill levy increases, both or neither.
O’Hara favored abolishing property taxes entirely.
“Our property tax system is broken,” she said. “I don’t know how to fix it.”
Schwab favored letting voters decide, and described an appraisal cap as “anti-free market.” Masterson and Sarnecki liked both approaches, but Sarnecki blamed Masterson and the Republican-led Legislature for failing to take action this year.
“There’s property tax relief to be found, just not for the people of the state of Kansas,” Sarnecki said.
But, he said it has been reserved for “lobbyists and special interests” that “have ties” to Masterson.
Masterson said the Senate “did the work,” but a group of “phony Republicans” sided with Democrats, foiling plans at property tax relief.
The candidates each oppose legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas and supported reducing abortions. They acknowledged the state’s abortion climate couldn’t change without changing the makeup of the Kansas Supreme Court.
They all approve of the upcoming constitutional amendment that asks voters to change the way state Supreme Court justices are selected from a merit-based system to a popular vote.
Each said they would consider or approve a temporary reprieve from the state gas tax, which is 25 cents per gallon of gasoline and 27 cents per gallon of diesel. Only O’Hara acknowledged that high gas prices couldn’t be resolved without an end to the Iran War. She and the other candidates said gas was only one piece of addressing affordability, emphasizing the need for affordable housing.
Not on the stage
Three Republicans were missing from the debate stage: Vicki Schmidt, Stacy Rogers and Nick Reinecker.
Schmidt, the state insurance commissioner, refused last year to pay the $10,000 contribution required of candidates to participate in party-sponsored debates.
“I will not participate in debate for the highest office in the state that’s contingent on an entry fee,” Schmidt wrote in a Sept. 30, 2025, letter.
She said she believes the state Republican Party should remain neutral during primaries, giving candidates equal opportunities.
“Under this agreement, the party picks winners and losers,” Schmidt wrote. “Members of the Kansas Republican Party deserve to hear from every candidate in the race, not just the ones the party has determined deserve to be on the debate stage.”
Hans Torgerson, a spokesperson for the Kansas Democratic Party, said the debate was “a race to the bottom” while Kansas families deal with rising costs. He said the debate was a contest of who was the most extreme.
“When Masterson and Sarnecki weren’t busy fighting each other, they were busy auditioning for the MAGA base,” Torgerson said. “Kansans deserved real leadership. They got a circus.”
The three Democratic candidates — state Sen. Ethan Corson, state Sen. Cindy Holscher and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog — all live in Johnson County, where the debate was held.
Kelly endorsed Corson in November, and she stumped for him in Olathe earlier this week.
Fabian Shepard, a campaign strategist and former chair of the Johnson County Republican Party who spoke with Holt in a prerecorded pre-show, said Holscher could be pulling ahead in the race.
In conversation with Holt and former Kansas GOP chair Mike Kuckelman, Shepard said Schmidt has a lot of moderate support, which could prove to be important in Johnson County.
“Vicki has proven that she can win,” Shepard said.
But with three Democrats on the ticket, he said, he was unsure of how moderate support will carry over in the county.
Kuckelman said he expects former Gov. Jeff Colyer, who dropped out of the race after Trump endorsed Masterson, will receive an appointment in the Trump administration.