In a Kansas Democratic governor primary shaped by personal attacks and long-simmering animosity, dueling accusations could jeopardize the party’s ability to unify behind whoever wins next Tuesday.

Will Lawrence, chief of staff for term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly, says his boss chose to go public with her divorce last year because she felt she was being blackmailed.

Lawrence accused Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Cindy Holscher of threatening to reveal Kelly’s 2024 separation from her husband of more than 40 years — a stunning claim against the Overland Park state senator who held a sizable lead in the only independent poll from June.

Holscher’s campaign said she was expressing a willingness to publicize information about potential campaign interference — not Kelly’s personal life.

On Aug. 4, Democratic voters will choose between Holscher, Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog and Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway, whom Kelly endorsed and has campaigned aggressively for down the stretch.

The extraordinary allegation offers a window into the waning days of an increasingly hostile primary race to replace Kelly, who has enjoyed broad popularity throughout her eight years in office. Republicans widely believe Kansas to be one of the states where they have the best chance of flipping a governorship from blue to red in 2026.

Holscher strongly denied the blackmail allegation, saying she knew nothing about the governor’s marriage ending before Kelly shared her personal news in a Kansas Reflector story last July, roughly nine months after the divorce was finalized. Holscher condemned Lawrence as a bully with a clear agenda supporting Corson.

The Corson campaign declined to comment for this story.

In a statement to The Star in late July, Lawrence said Holscher made the alleged threat in a text message on June 12, 2025, the day she launched her campaign for governor.

The Star reviewed the text message in question, which was paraphrased and quoted in fragments in an August 2025 Reflector story roughly a week after Corson announced his candidacy and Kelly indicated he was her chosen successor.

That story, which includes rebuttals from Lawrence, did not indicate Holscher was referencing Kelly’s divorce.

What was the alleged threat?

The June 12, 2025 text began with Holscher informing Lawrence that she had decided to run for governor, despite previously entertaining a bid for the U.S. Senate. She said support for her potential gubernatorial campaign had escalated, leading her to announce her candidacy.

“Normally, I would have contacted you in advance, but I am so done with the games coming from you and the governor’s office,” Holscher texted Lawrence. “Apparently, I’m not the only one, as several of my Democratic peers in the Legislature have forwarded info to me regarding their same concerns.

“I did not contact the Gov. as I know her personal situation has been a concern over the past several months and I have a complete competent team helping me,” Holscher continued before warning Lawrence against interfering with her campaign.

“I want to be very clear about something,” Holscher addressed Kelly’s top aide. “If you, anyone in the governor’s administration, or anyone else affiliated with you or this administration: says anything negative about me or my candidacy or anyone else involved with my campaign; does anything through the (Democratic Governors Association) to impede or negatively influence; tries to interfere with the hiring of staff, bringing in volunteers, etc; or so much as attempt to put a thumb on the scale in any way to interfere in this election or any others, I will swiftly hand over all the proof I have to the press. Is that clear?”

What did Holscher mean?

In response to questions about the message, Holscher’s campaign said she was expressing frustration about what she perceived as a pressure campaign by the governor’s office to keep herself, Corson and other potential Democratic candidates out of the governor race to clear the way for attorney Chris Mann. Mann, who narrowly lost the 2022 attorney general race to Republican Kris Kobach, ultimately opted for a rematch with Kobach in 2026 instead.

Lawrence said he interpreted the message as a threat.

“On June 12, 2025, I received a text message from Sen. Holscher mentioning a ‘personal situation’ of the governor and stating that if the governor, or anyone connected to her, engaged in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in any way that she would go to the press with allegedly damaging information,” Lawrence said.

“Because I had been previously informed by multiple individuals that Sen. Holscher had been speculating on the governor’s marital status, we believed Sen. Holscher’s threat was to make the governor’s divorce public,” he said.

Lawrence continued: “The governor was always willing to confirm her divorce whenever asked. However, in light of Sen. Holscher’s threat, Gov. Kelly decided to formally announce her divorce on her own terms.”

Kelly and retired Topeka physician Ted Daughety were granted a divorce in October 2024, the term-limited governor said in July 2025. The story publicizing the divorce ran three weeks after Holscher sent the message discouraging interference in the primary.

Holscher called Lawrence’s claim “a despicable accusation made by someone who has behaved despicably throughout this campaign.” She denied prior knowledge of the divorce and said that if she had known, it would not have been within her character to “weaponize such information.”

“The text messages speak for themselves, and I invite people to read them,” Holscher said in a statement. “A year ago, I told Will Lawrence I wouldn’t tolerate his bullying and strong-arm tactics in this race. That remains the case: I don’t back down to bullies.

“Will Lawrence is a highly-paid insider desperately trying to cling onto power by spreading lies and innuendo, and clumsily using the levers of the governor’s office to help his preferred candidate,” Holscher continued.

“I respect Gov. Kelly, but this staff person has done her a great disservice,” she said.

Holscher’s campaign said the “personal situation” she mentioned was a reference to the justification the governor’s office gave for canceling a meeting between Holscher and Kelly in the days before the lawmaker launched her campaign.

Both camps agreed that Holscher, Kelly and Lawrence met on June 4, 2025 to discuss Holscher’s political options. Kelly’s office said staff had no record or recollection of a planned second June meeting between the governor and Holscher that was canceled.

Rumors shape primary battle

To corroborate the accusation of blackmail, Lawrence identified two people he said contacted him about Holscher allegedly bringing up Kelly’s marital status — both of whom are organized labor leaders.

Ty Dragoo, chair of the Working Kansas Alliance, and Sarah LaFrenz, president of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, said they called Lawrence in 2025 to deliver messages about the lawmaker spreading rumors.

Neither of those union leaders, when contacted by The Star, could identify the source of those rumors. LaFrenz said she recalled hearing about it from House lawmakers whom she couldn’t remember by name.

The Star contacted more than 20 Democratic lawmakers. Of the 10 who responded, only two agreed to speak on the record for this story.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, said he was unaware of rumors involving Holscher, Kelly and threats of blackmail.

“This is the first I’m hearing of this,” Carmichael said.

Sen. Marci Francisco, a Lawrence Democrat, said she was also unfamiliar with any such rumor.

None of the other lawmakers said they had heard anything from Holscher or her staff about Kelly’s divorce. Some said the question blindsided them. Others said they had become aware of talk about such an allegation in recent months.

Several lawmakers said they were unwilling to speak on the record for fear of being singled out and berated by Lawrence, who has acquired a reputation in Topeka as Kelly’s enforcer.

Character concerns

The union leaders said they believe Holscher’s text message to Lawrence calls into question whether she has the moral character to be governor. More than 20 organized labor groups have endorsed Corson in the race.

Former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, an early supporter of Holscher’s who was granted two divorces while in office in the 1980s, said he does not believe Holscher would spread rumors about Kelly’s marital status or threaten to weaponize it against her.

“Kelly’s private life is none of our business,” Carlin said.

“(Divorce) is obviously a very significant personal situation to go through for any couple. And then to be in public life, that obviously complicates it,” he added.

Carlin and other Holscher supporters said they do not hold Lawrence in high regard.

In addition to his chief of staff role navigating Capitol politics and helping manage state agencies that employ more than 43,000 workers, Lawrence controls Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC, which tried unsuccessfully in 2024 to break Republican supermajorities in the Legislature.

Some of the PAC’s campaign tactics have drawn criticism from fellow Democrats, including when it ran a vitriolic attack ad against Democratic Senate candidate Vic Miller, who was then serving as House minority leader.

Lynn Rogers, who served as Kelly’s first lieutenant governor and was later appointed state treasurer, said Lawrence is somebody who holds on to grudges. Rogers, who is now Holscher’s campaign treasurer, described Lawrence’s claim against Holscher as “desperate” and “a last-minute attempt to silence a successful woman.”

Lawrence and the governor’s office declined to comment on criticism of Lawrence’s approach to politics. Holscher has called on Corson to disavow the “petty attacks” against her and “run on his own record.”

Kelly, who has repeatedly asserted that only Corson has what it takes to win over independent and moderate Republican voters in November, has so far refused to say whether she will endorse Holscher if she emerges victorious from the bruising primary.

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