Stephen Fowler/NPR
 











Even as Republicans sweat the closer-than-expected Senate race, the party is optimistic about winning back control of the governor’s office after eight years of Democrat Laura Kelly’s leadership.

The Kansas Republican Party is on a weeklong bus tour across the state, bringing a message of contrast that is more state-focused than dealing with the challenging national environment for the party.

Masterson, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said in Dodge City that tackling issues like affordability and lower energy prices would come from putting a Republican back in the state’s top office.

“There’s never been a clearer choice than we’ve had in this election,” he said. “If you want working families to be able to afford to live, if you want to stop taxing people out of their homes and out of their businesses and off their farms, if you want safe communities, lower energy prices, i.e. then lower grocery prices… It’s not really a choice. You need to vote Republican.”