The 2006 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who sported high approval ratings[1] ran for re-election to serve a second and final term. She was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and faced Republican State Senator Jim Barnett, who emerged from a crowded primary. Sebelius soundly defeated Barnett and cruised to re-election, which was quite a considerable feat for a Democrat in staunchly conservative Kansas. This was Sebelius's second time winning a majority and was part of a trend from 1984 to 2010 where 7 of 8 Kansas gubernatorial elections were won with a majority rather than a simple plurality. No candidate received a majority of votes in 2014, 2018 or 2022.
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![]() County results Sebelius: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Barnett: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- Kathleen Sebelius, incumbent Governor of Kansas
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kathleen Sebelius (incumbent) | 76,046 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 76,046 | 100.00 |
Republican primary
edit- Barnett—71-80%
- Barnett—61-70%
- Barnett—51-60%
- Barnett—41-50%
- Barnett—31-40%
- Barnett—21-30%
- Canfield—51-60%
- Canfield—41-50%
- Canfield—31-40%
- Canfield—21-30%
- Jennison—81-90%
- Jennison—71-80%
- Jennison—61-70%
- Jennison—51-60%
- Jennison—41-50%
- Jennison—31-40%
- Jennison—21-30%
- Crowell—31-40%
Candidates
edit- Jim Barnett, State Senator
- Running mate: Susan Wagle, state senator (2001–present) and former state representative (1991-2001)
- Ken R. Canfield, author and founder of the National Center for Fathering
- Running mate: Kathe Decker, state representative (1993–present)
- Rex Crowell, former State Representative
- Running mate: Brian Shepherd
- Dennis Hawver, Libertarian nominee for Governor in 2002
- Running mate: Bret D. Landrith, attorney
- Robin Jennison, former Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives
- Running mate: Dennis Wilson, state senator (2005–present) and former state representative (1995-1999)
- Timothy V. Pickell, attorney
- Running mate: Jeffrey McCalmon
- Richard "Rode" Rodewald, perennial candidate
- Running mate: Helen Kanzig
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Jim Barnett | 70,299 | 36.18 | |
Republican | Ken R. Canfield | 51,365 | 26.44 | |
Republican | Robin Jennison | 42,678 | 21.97 | |
Republican | Timothy V. Pickell | 10,473 | 5.39 | |
Republican | Rex Crowell | 8,677 | 4.47 | |
Republican | Dennis Hawver | 6,661 | 3.43 | |
Republican | Richard "Rode" Rodewald | 4,142 | 2.13 | |
Total votes | 194,295 | 100.00 |
General election
editPredictions
editSource | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report[3] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Rothenberg Political Report[5] | Safe D | November 2, 2006 |
Real Clear Politics[6] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
editSource | Date | Kathleen Sebelius (D) |
Jim Barnett (R) |
---|---|---|---|
Survey USA | November 5, 2006 | 57% | 40% |
Rasmussen | October 27, 2006 | 56% | 37% |
Survey USA | October 16, 2006 | 55% | 42% |
Survey USA | September 14, 2006 | 58% | 38% |
Rasmussen | September 1, 2006 | 48% | 37% |
Rasmussen Archived 2006-08-22 at the Wayback Machine | July 31, 2006 | 51% | 34% |
Rasmussen | June 19, 2006 | 49% | 36% |
Rasmussen | May 3, 2006 | 49% | 37% |
Rasmussen Archived 2006-06-14 at the Wayback Machine | April 15, 2006 | 50% | 37% |
Rasmussen | February 13, 2006 | 45% | 37% |
Rasmussen | January 25, 2006 | 46% | 35% |
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kathleen Sebelius (incumbent) | 491,993 | 57.90% | +5.03% | |
Republican | Jim Barnett | 343,586 | 40.44% | −4.66% | |
Libertarian | Carl Kramer | 8,896 | 1.05% | +0.08% | |
Reform | Richard Lee Ranzau | 5,221 | 0.61% | −0.45% | |
Write-in | 4 | 0.00% | |||
Majority | 148,407 | 17.47% | +9.68% | ||
Turnout | 849,700 | ||||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
edit- Sherman (largest municipality: Goodland)
- Lane (largest municipality: Dighton)
- Stafford (largest municipality: St. John)
- Mitchell (largest municipality: Beloit)
- Lincoln (largest municipality: Lincoln) (previously tied)
- Kingman (largest municipality: Kingman)
- Ottawa (largest municipality: Minneapolis) (previously tied)
- Doniphan (Largest city: Wathena)
- Linn (Largest city: Pleasanton)
- Woodson (Largest city: Yates Center)
- Wilson (Largest city: Neodesha)
- Bourbon (Largest city: Fort Scott)
- Cherokee (Largest city: Baxter Springs)
- McPherson (largest municipality: McPherson)
- Johnson (largest municipality: Overland Park)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
edit- Coffey (largest municipality: Burlington)
- Chase (largest city: Cottonwood Falls)
- Greenwood (largest municipality: Eureka)
- Norton (largest municipality: Norton)
- Pratt (largest municipality: Pratt)
- Pottawatomie (largest municipality: Manhattan)
See also
editExternal links
edit- Official campaign websites (Archived)
References
edit- ^ "Approval Ratings For All 50 Governors". SurveyUSA/KWCH-TV/KCTV-TV. July 20, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
- ^ a b "2006 Primary Election Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.
- ^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
- ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "2006 General Election Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.