Kansas Governor Still Uncalled: Holscher's Lead Grows Past 7,600 as the Last Ballots Shrink Masterson's Path
NBC News estimates about 13,000 votes remain and says Ty Masterson would need more than 80% of them. Republicans in Topeka are bracing. Here is the math, the calendar, and why conservatives should let the audit finish before anyone writes the ending.
By Clara Hughes
Four days after Election Day, Kansas still does not have an official governor-elect. It has a trend line. As this was written Saturday afternoon Eastern, Nov. 7, Democrat Cindy Holscher led Republican Ty Masterson 551,250 to 543,612 — a margin of 7,638 votes, or 50.3% to 49.7% — in unofficial returns, according to an election tracker updated at 3:12 p.m. ET. NBC News, whose results page carried the same 1,094,862 total votes at that hour, still rated the race "too close to call," with an estimated 98.9% of the expected vote counted and roughly 13,000 votes remaining. NBC's Decision Desk added a striking line: Masterson "would need to win 80.5% of the remaining vote to catch or overtake" Holscher. Altas is not calling this race. No major desk has. But the direction of travel since Wednesday is clear — and it has not been Masterson's. Keep reading with Altas Premium. Below: how Holscher's margin moved through Friday's mail deadline, what the close-race audit can and cannot change, the Nov. 16–22 recount calendar, what Republican insiders are now saying on the record, and what Kansas tells conservatives