The latest Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of Kansas voters finds incumbent Democratic Governor Laura Kelly with 46% support for re-election, while 43% of voters support Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Five percent of voters support Independent Dennis Pyle and 5% of voters are undecided. With undecided voters’ support accounted for, Kelly’s support grows to 49% and Schmidt’s to 44%.

Since the first Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey in September, Kelly’s support has increased three points while Schmidt’s support has remained at 43%.

Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling said, “Kelly has more cross-party support for Governor than Schmidt: 91% of Democrats plan to vote for Kelly, 18% of Republicans, and 49% of Independents.”

A majority of Kansas voters (53%) view Kelly favorably, while 43% view her unfavorably. Forty-eight percent of voters view Schmidt favorably, while 43% view him unfavorably. Nine percent of voters are unsure or have never heard of Schmidt. 

In the race for US Senate, incumbent Republican Jerry Moran leads his Democratic challenger Mark Holland 54% to 33%; 8% are undecided. Since the September poll, Senator Moran has increased his support by nine points since the September survey, from 45% to 54%, and Holland’s support holds at 33%.

In the race for Attorney General, Democrat Chris Mann leads Republican Kris Kobach by one point, 44% to 43%. Eleven percent of voters are undecided, and 3% would vote for someone else. 

President Biden holds a 59% disapproval among Kansas voters, while 33% approve of the job he is doing as president. In a hypothetical 2024 matchup between President Biden and former President Trump, 50% of voters would support Trump and 37% Biden, 10% would support someone else, and 3% are undecided. 

A majority of voters (61%) support the proposed bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Kansas, while 25% of voters oppose the bill. Fourteen percent are unsure or have no opinion. 

The economy is the most important issue for 50% of Kansas voters, followed by “threats to democracy” (14%), abortion access (10%), and healthcare (7%). 

Half of voters (50%) oppose the recent federal student loan cancellation program, while 35% support the cancellation, and 15% are unsure or have no opinion.

Methodology

The Emerson College Polling Kansas poll was conducted October 27-29, 2022. The sample consisted of very likely voters, n=1,000 with a Credibility Interval (CI) similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE) of +/- 3 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, age, and education, based on 2022 turnout modeling. It is important to remember that subsets based on gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity carry with them higher margins of error, as the sample size is reduced. Data was collected using a cellphone sample using SMS-to-web, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines, and an online panel.

This poll is produced by Emerson College and the Nexstar television stations in Missouri and Kansas. Journalists citing this poll must attribute poll results to their local Nexstar Media station –  WDAF, KSNT, KSN and KODE – and Emerson College Polling.