Election Day, Nov 3 6 daysSenate D 85%House D 97%Governors D 86%Forecast updated Oct 28
2026 forecast · Kansas 2nd

Derek Schmidt is favored to win Kansas's 2nd District.

Don Coover vs Derek Schmidt. The model has Schmidt ahead by 3.9 points, winning 70 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Lean RModel R +3.9Updated October 28, 2026
Don Coover
Democrat
47.1%
136,081 projected votes
Derek Schmidt
Republican
51.0%
147,299 projected votes
70%Schmidt
30%Coover
Schmidt favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Schmidt wins about 70 of 100
RatingLean R70% chance for Schmidt
Model marginR +3.9No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +5.1 to R +13.02,000 simulations
Projected votes288,641Schmidt 51.0%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Kansas districts

4 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Don CooverDemocrat · 30% to win
47.1%
Derek SchmidtRepublican · 70% to win
51.0%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

288,641 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Derek Schmidt R147,29951.0%
Don Coover D136,08147.1%
John Hauer L5,2611.8%
Total288,641100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%30% Coover70% Schmidt17 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Kansas governor polling average
40%42%44%46%48%50%52%54%56%Aug 21Aug 28Sep 4Sep 11Sep 18Sep 25Oct 2Oct 9Oct 16Oct 2345.6Holscher49.2Masterson
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHollow dot: a lean firm's poll as published; the filled dot is where the average counts it, after its measured lean is taken offHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
RedBox Research (D)Oct 23 · 1,301 LV · NR16%Masterson +2.4
Global Strategy Group (D)Oct 21 · 600 LV · A- · D lean, counted Masterson +1.9 in the average16%Even
New York Times/Siena CollegeSep 30 · 605 LV · Gold16%Masterson +5.0
Emerson College / NexstarSep 16 · 750 LV · Gold15%Masterson +7.0
On Point PollingOct 21 · 479 LV · Gold14%Masterson +6.5
Global Strategy Group (D)Sep 16 · 800 LV · A- · D lean, counted Holscher +1.1 in the average13%Holscher +3.0
Every other poll together: 9.8%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Schmidt +3.9
Chance of winning
Don Coover30%
Derek Schmidt70%
Simulated vote
Don Coover47.1%
Derek Schmidt51.0%
John Hauer1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +20.0
FundamentalsR +1.5
With pollsR +3.9

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +24R +24Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +20.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +1.5With pollsno pollsR +3.9
On Point on YouTubeThe Kansas House race, explained on YouTubeForecast breakdowns, the polls and election night coverage on the On Point channel.Subscribe
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.