Ty Masterson wants another shot at changing Kansas judicial selection

salina.com · September 9, 2026

# Ty Masterson wants another shot at changing Kansas judicial selection

Published: 2026-09-09T09:05:42+00:00 Source: salina.com (salina.com) Language: en

## Story

Ty Masterson wants another shot at changing Kansas judicial selection

GOVERNMENT

# Masterson eyes new Kansas judicial selection amendment

Bryan Richardson Evert Nelson

Topeka Capital-Journal

Sept. 9, 2026, 4:05 a.m. CT

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share by email

If at first you don’t succeed, try another constitutional amendment seems to be the motto for Republicans, including gubernatorial nominee Ty Masterson.

After failing to convince Kansans to start electing Kansas Supreme Court justices, Republicans are floating the idea of exploring other options for changing judicial selection.

Masterson, attending a Kansas Chamber event on Aug. 27 in Olathe, answered a Capital-Journal question after a candidate forum by saying he would push for another judicial selection amendment “at some point.”

“We have the worst system in the country,” the Senate president said. “So I think the short answer is yes.”

The state appoints Supreme Court justices with the “Missouri Plan,” which Missouri created in 1940 and Kansas adopted in 1958.

Kansas’ nine-member Supreme Court Nominating Commission consists of one lawyer as the chair and one lawyer and one nonlawyer from each congressional district. The commission provides three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment.

Various Republicans, including gubernatorial candidates and Attorney General Kris Kobach, support changing the selection process in part because of the court’s previous rulings that protected access to abortions and deemed the state’s education funding as unconstitutional.

## Republican could re-explore federal model

With 61% of voters going against the amendment in the Aug. 4 primary, elections are out, but a couple of options remain. Republicans either could seek a change in the nominating commission or move to select state justices like the U.S. Supreme Court.

For the U.S. Supreme Court, the president sends a judicial nomination to the Senate, which must approve the appointment. Kansas conducts the same process for the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Masterson mentioned pursuing the federal model when speaking with reporters at the Chamber event.

“It seemed to be the blowback was on the elections, even though it's the most common way in the nation,” Masterson said.

The Legislature flirted with the federal model previously, most seriously in 2022 when the Senate failed to advance the proposal by a single vote.

As Senate president and the Republican nominee for governor, Masterson is perhaps the most prominent leader in position to push for a new constitutional amendment. But other Republicans also have made their stance clear.

Speaker Pro Tem Blake Carpenter, R-Derby, said on Facebook the night of the primary that the amendment failed, not the need for judicial reform.

“Throughout this debate, many Kansans asked why we do not use a system more like the federal model, or at least adopt a commission where citizens hold the majority instead of attorneys,” he said. “Those ideas deserve serious consideration because they would be a substantial improvement over the system we have today.”

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share by email

Featured Weekly Ad

We're always working to improve your experience. Let us know what you think.

Read the full story at salina.com