2006 Kansas gubernatorial election

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 defeated Barnett and was reelected.

2006 Kansas gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →

Nominee Kathleen Sebelius Jim Barnett Party Democratic Republican Running mate Mark Parkinson Susan Wagle Popular vote 491,993 343,586 Percentage 57.9% 40.4%

County results Sebelius:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Barnett:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Kathleen Sebelius Democratic Elected Governor Kathleen Sebelius Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kathleen Sebelius, incumbent Governor of Kansas

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Sebelius (incumbent)	76,046	100.00
Total votes			76,046	100.00

Republican primary

Primary results by county:

Barnett

•   Barnett—71-80%
•   Barnett—61-70%
•   Barnett—51-60%
•   Barnett—41-50%
•   Barnett—31-40%
•   Barnett—21-30%

Canfield

•   Canfield—51-60%
•   Canfield—41-50%
•   Canfield—31-40%
•   Canfield—21-30%

Jennison

•   Jennison—81-90%
•   Jennison—71-80%
•   Jennison—61-70%
•   Jennison—51-60%
•   Jennison—41-50%
•   Jennison—31-40%
•   Jennison—21-30%

Crowell

•   Crowell—31-40%

  Tie between Barnett and Canfield-31%

Candidates

• 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

Republican primary results^[2]

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

Predictions

Source	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

Source	Date	Kathleen Sebelius (D)	Jim Barnett (R)
Survey USA[7]	November 5, 2006	57%	40%
Rasmussen[8]	October 27, 2006	56%	37%
Survey USA[9]	October 16, 2006	55%	42%
Survey USA[10]	September 14, 2006	58%	38%
Rasmussen[11]	September 1, 2006	48%	37%
Rasmussen[12]	July 31, 2006	51%	34%
Rasmussen[13]	June 19, 2006	49%	36%
Rasmussen[14]	May 3, 2006	49%	37%
Rasmussen[15]	April 15, 2006	50%	37%
Rasmussen[16]	February 13, 2006	45%	37%
Rasmussen[17]	January 25, 2006	46%	35%

Results

Kansas gubernatorial election, 2006^[18]

Party		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

• 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

• 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

• U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006
• List of governors of Kansas

External links

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Kathleen Sebelius
• Jim Barnett