Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly has won the Kansas governors race, defeating Kansas secretary of state and Donald Trump ally Kris Kobach .

Kansans chose to elect a Democratic governor just two years after supporting Trump by over 20 percentage points . Polls showed a tied race heading into Election Day, but Kelly ended up with a fundraising edge over Kobach , a controversial figure with a national profile.

While Kansas is frequently thought of as a deep-red state, former Gov. Sam Brownback (R) left office this year as one of the least popular governors in the country. He resigned to take a job in the Trump administration. Polls also showed that a large number of voters in the state had a negative view of Kobach, who had risen to prominence as a conservative hard-liner on voting restrictions and immigration.