Is Kansas really trending Democratic?

[President Johnson]

Or are people overreacting to the 2018 gubernatorial election, in which an A-tier Democratic candidate defeated on of the worst Republican politicians by five points in a blue wave midterm year? Kansas had a Democratic governor as recently as 2011 before; in 2006, Kathleen Sebelius won reelection with 57% of the vote. Not to mention statewide elections are different from national ones. Another key factor here is that Brownback screwed up as governor with his tax experiment and even faced backlash from Republicans.

I have doubts the state is on track to become the next Colorado or so, despite suburban trends away from the Trumpist Republican Party. Having the state competitive beyond the gubernatorial level would actually require stronger population growth in metros and suburban areas, especially from Hispanics and/or African Americans.