Who Is Running for Baringo Governor in 2027?

Baringo's governor seat is open in 2027. Benjamin Cheboi (Governor, Baringo) of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was the county's first governor from 2013 to 2017 and won the office back in 2022, so he is serving his second and final term. The Standard reported on 16 June 2026 that at least nine aspirants were positioning to succeed him, led by former Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui and former governor Stanley Kiptis.

Cheboi's two terms, with a gap

Cheboi's record is unusual. He lost in 2017 to Stanley Kiptis (Governor, Baringo), then returned in 2022. The two-term limit counts every term served, consecutive or not, so the gap does not buy him a third. The Daily Nation ran the same point in September 2022 under the headline "Comeback governors can't seek another term, experts say".

In 2022 Cheboi won with 137,486 votes, Citizen Digital reported. Both of his main rivals ran as independents after losing the UDA nomination: Moses Lessonet (Eldama Ravine) came second and conceded, and Kiptis, the sitting governor, conceded too, the Kenya News Agency reported.

Both men are back.

The field as of September 2026

The Standard's list, published on 16 June 2026:

• Simon Chelugui, who held the Labour, Water and Cooperatives portfolios in the Cabinets of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto before leaving in 2024
• Stanley Kiptis, governor from 2017 to 2022, who now chairs the Kenya National Qualifications Authority Council
• Moses Lessonet, a three-term MP for Eldama Ravine and a former vice-chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee
• David Yatich, a former county commissioner who moved into irrigation and is campaigning on water for the county's dry areas
• Dennis Korir, Stanley Baskwony, Dr Wisley Kiprop, engineer Vincent Cheruiyot and David Kipkebut

The Standard named Chelugui and Kiptis as the leaders of that pack. Chelugui's supporters argue that leaving the Cabinet freed him to concentrate on county politics. Others have described that 2024 exit, when Ruto reorganised his government, as a setback.

We found no published poll of the Baringo governor race as of 23 September 2026.

The Senate by-election and the UDA ticket

Baringo's most recent vote says a lot about how the county's politics work in 2026. When the Senate seat fell vacant, Gideon Moi, the Kenya African National Union (KANU) chairman and a former Baringo senator, prepared to run. He then failed to present his papers in October 2025. He later told supporters at Kabarak that he stepped down after President Ruto personally promised to finish stalled roads and dams in the county, the Star reported.

UDA's Vincent Chemitei (Senator, Baringo) won the by-election in November 2025 with 56,236 votes, Capital FM reported. Political analyst Anthony Muge told the Standard that Ruto "had to pull some strings" for UDA to take the seat.

So the governor race is, in practice, a race for the UDA ticket. The county has historically aligned itself with ruling parties, the Standard noted. Kiptis and Lessonet both showed in 2022 that losing that primary does not have to end a campaign, but neither won as an independent.

Health will dominate the campaign

The same Standard report said the state of Baringo's hospitals was likely to be the main campaign issue. A Senate Health Committee visit, led by Senator Jackson Mandago with Senators Richard Onyonka and Vincent Chemitei, found facilities that members described as a failing system. In March 2026 The Eastleigh Voice and People Daily reported that senators had questioned Cheboi over under-equipped hospitals and the hiring of casual health workers.

Activist Isaiah Biwott told the paper that several aspirants had served in government before and had "little to show for it". Muge, the analyst, argued the county needed "a technocrat with a clean track record".

The county in the national picture

Baringo has six constituencies and 30 wards, and slightly more than 280,000 registered voters on the 2022 register, according to the Standard. The Star listed it on 13 September 2026 among ten smaller counties that could matter for the presidential rule requiring a quarter of the votes in at least 24 counties. Our county-by-county 2022 presidential results show where it sat last time.

Baringo's neighbour to the west has an incumbent defending his seat, covered in who is running for Elgeyo-Marakwet governor, while Nandi, like Baringo, is open: see who is running for Nandi governor.

Dates to watch

UDA's primary has to be finished by 8 May 2027, and anyone planning to run as an independent must be out of their party by then. Every step is in the 2027 election calendar.