FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2026
Contact: Hans Torgerson
hans@kansasdems.org
KANSANS REJECT MASTERSON-BACKED AMENDMENT IN LANDSLIDE IN CLEAR WARNING SIGN FOR TY MASTERSON
Masterson helped write the amendment and told conservative audiences it would stop courts from making the state "spend money on schools" and strip reproductive rights from the Kansas Constitution
TOPEKA — Kansas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment to scrap the state's 68-year-old judicial selection system, delivering a decisive defeat to Republican nominee for Governor Ty Masterson, who helped write the measure, testified for it in the Legislature, and told supporters it was the vehicle for gutting public school funding and reversing the Kansas Supreme Court's protection of reproductive freedom.
Unofficial returns showed roughly 62% of Kansans voting no. It is the second time in four years that Kansas Republicans have put a constitutional amendment on the ballot and watched voters bury it. In 2022, an amendment to strip reproductive rights from the state constitution failed 59-41.
This is a clear warning sign for Masterson ahead of the November election, who was a key leader of the measure to stop courts from making the state "spend money on schools" and strip reproductive rights from the Kansas Constitution.
Statement from Hans Torgerson, Spokesperson for the Kansas Democratic Party:
“Masterson opens his general election campaign as the man who tried to rig the courts and got caught explaining why to his own supporters, warning them in the same breath that Kansans would revolt if they ever found out. Twice in four years he and his allies have tried to sneak a constitutional rewrite past voters on an August ballot, and twice Kansans have shown up and humiliated him.”
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