Democrat Laura Kelly defeats Republican Kris Kobach in Kansas gubernatorial election

(Image credit: Facebook/Laura Kelly)

published 7 November 2018

Democrat Laura Kelly has been elected governor of Kansas, according to projections from NBC News and CNN.

With 66 percent of precincts reporting, the Democratic state senator has won 51 percent of the vote compared to 41 percent for the Republican nominee, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, per NBC News.

Kelly is the first Democrat to be elected governor of the state since 2008. Her opponent, Kobach, is a close Trump ally, having been endorsed by the president in the Republican primary over the sitting governor. Kobach's hard-line views on immigration also match up with Trump’s. He is a controversial figure in part due to his implementation of strict voter ID laws and his baseless claims about voter fraud. Kelly had sought to win over moderates in her campaign and fought against the fiscal record of the unpopular former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, as well as the spending and tax cuts championed by her Republican rival.