Kansas gubernatorial election, 1990

Kansas gubernatorial election, 1990

Nominee Joan Finney Mike Hayden Christina Campbell-Cline Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 380,609 333,589 69,127 Percentage 48.6% 42.6% 8.8%

Governor before election Mike Hayden Republican Elected Governor Joan Finney Democratic

The Kansas gubernatorial election of 1990 included incumbent Republican Governor Mike Hayden lost re-election to Democratic nominee Joan Finney.

Background

Hayden was chosen as chair of the Republican Governors Association. Hayden's term saw tax cuts and programs to combat substance abuse. Unfortunately for the governor, a split in the Kansas Republican Party between moderates and conservatives considerably reduced other accomplishments. Hayden himself was perceived as a moderate; on abortion, for instance, he took a pro-choice position. Because of the legislative gridlock, Hayden was not able to reinstate the death penalty. Hayden lost his re-election bid primarily because of voter passage of a property reclassification amendment in Kansas which resulted in property reappraisals – the first in some cases in 20 years – and the resulting property tax increases when market values were applied to properties for tax purposes.

Candidates

Republican

• Mike Hayden, incumbent Governor

Democratic

• Joan Finney, State Treasurer

Independent

• Christina Campbell-Cline, accountant

Results

Governor candidate	Running Mate	Party	Popular Vote
Joan Finney	James Francisco	Democratic	380,609	48.6%
Mike Hayden	Harland Priddle	Republican	333,589	42.6%
Christina Campbell-Cline	Benton	Independent	69,127	8.8%

Distinctions

State Treasurer Finney was elected governor over Hayden in 1990, giving Hayden the distinction of being the first incumbent governor of any state to lose to a woman. In addition to being Kansas's first female governor, she was Kansas' oldest governor (65), Kansas' first Roman Catholic Governor, and one of the few pro-life Democratic Governors at the time [1].