2006 Kansas gubernatorial election
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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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| Elections in Kansas |
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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. Governor Sebelius was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and she faced the Republican nominee, 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. As of 2022[update], this remains the last time that a Democrat has carried more than nine counties or won a majority of the vote in a Kansas gubernatorial election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Kathleen Sebelius, incumbent Governor of Kansas
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kathleen Sebelius (incumbent) | 76,046 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 76,046 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
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
| 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 | 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
| 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
External links
- Official campaign websites (Archived)
References
- ^ "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.