2006 Kansas gubernatorial election

2006 Kansas gubernatorial election
	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

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.

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

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	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

Kansas gubernatorial election, 2006^[7]
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)

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.