1990 Kansas gubernatorial election

← 1986

November 6, 1990

1994 →


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%

County results
Finney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Hayden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%

Governor before election

Mike Hayden
Republican

Elected Governor

Joan Finney
Democratic

Federal government

Presidential elections
1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024
U.S. Senate elections
1861 1865 1867 1867 sp 1871 1873 1874 sp 1877 1879 1883 1885 1888 1891 1893 sp 1897 1901 1903 1907 1907 sp 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1930 sp 1932 1936 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1950 sp 1954 1956 1960 1962 1962 sp 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1996 sp 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1859 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 2nd sp 1886 1888 1889 4th sp 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1903 7th sp 1904 1906 1907 1st sp 1908 1910 1911 2nd sp 1912 7th sp 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 2nd sp 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1943 2nd sp 1944 1946 1948 1950 3rd sp 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 2nd sp 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017 4th sp 2018 2020 2022 2024

State government

State elections
2012 2014 2018 2020 2022
Gubernatorial elections
1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Attorney General elections
2022
Treasurer elections
2022
Senate elections
2020
House of Representatives elections
2020 2022

The 1990 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Hayden lost re-election to Democratic nominee Joan Finney.^[1]

The State Treasurer at the time, 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 at the age of 65 until Laura Kelly took office at the age of 68 in 2019, Kansas' first Roman Catholic Governor, and one of the few anti-abortion Democratic Governors at the time.^[2]

As of 2024, this was the last time in which an incumbent Kansas Governor lost a general election.

Background

Hayden was chosen as chair of the Republican Governors Association. His term saw tax cuts and programs to combat substance abuse. A split in the Kansas Republican Party between moderates and conservatives considerably reduced other accomplishments. He was perceived as a moderate; on abortion, for instance, he took a pro-choice position. Because of the legislative gridlock, he did not reinstate the death penalty.

It is speculated that 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
John W. Carlin, former Governor

Independent

Christina Campbell-Cline, CPA^[3]

General election

Results

Kansas gubernatorial election, 1990^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joan Finney	380,609	48.59%	+0.49%
	Republican	Mike Hayden (incumbent)	333,589	42.59%	-9.31%
	Independent	Christina Campbell-Cline	69,127	8.82%	N/A
Total votes			783,325	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
^ "Feminists for Life Celebrates Pro-Life Women". S.a.:Feminists for Life
^ "Independent Files For Governor's Race". The Belleville Telescope. Belleville, Kansas. August 30, 1990. p. 13. Retrieved June 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Kansas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 22, 2020.

v t e (1988 ←) 1990 United States elections (→ 1992)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Hawaii (Special) Idaho Illinois Indiana (Special) Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys General	California Michigan New York
State legislatures	Arizona Senate California Senate Iowa Senate Maryland House Senate Minnesota House Senate
Mayors	Anchorage, AK Irvine, CA New Orleans, LA San Jose, CA Washington, DC
States generally	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

v t e Notable third-party performances in United States elections
* Third party is endorsed by a major party
Presidential	1788–89* 1792* 1832 1848 1856 1860 1872* 1892 1896* 1912 1924 1948 1960 1968 1980 1992 1996
Senatorial (since 1940)	California 1940 Minnesota 1940 North Dakota 1940 Wisconsin 1940 Minnesota 1942 Minnesota 1942 Nebraska 1942 Virginia 1942 North Dakota 1944 Wisconsin 1944 California 1946 (Republican write-in) North Dakota 1946 North Dakota 1946 Tennessee 1946 Arkansas 1948 Alabama 1950 New Hampshire 1950 California 1952 Maine 1952 New York 1952 North Dakota 1952 Virginia 1952 South Carolina 1954 (Democratic write-in) Virginia 1954 Utah 1958 Virginia 1958 Virginia 1960 Virginia 1964 Mississippi 1966 Virginia 1966 Virginia 1966 Alabama 1968 Alaska 1968 Maryland 1968 New York 1968 Connecticut 1970 Mississippi 1970 New York 1970 Virginia 1970 Louisiana 1972 Florida 1974 Hawaii 1974 Nevada 1974 New York 1974 Utah 1974 Minnesota 1976 Virginia 1976 Alabama 1978 Arkansas 1978 Maine 1978 Mississippi 1978 New York 1980 Washington 1982 Tennessee 1984 Virginia 1990 Alaska 1992 Arizona 1992 Hawaii 1992 Louisiana 1992 Ohio 1992 Arizona 1994 Minnesota 1994 Ohio 1994 Vermont 1994 Virginia 1994 Alaska 1996 Minnesota 1996 Arizona 2000 Massachusetts 2000 Minnesota 2000 Alaska 2002 Kansas 2002 Massachusetts 2002 Mississippi 2002 Oklahoma 2002 Virginia 2002 Oklahoma 2004 Connecticut 2006 Indiana 2006 Maine 2006 Vermont 2006* Arkansas 2008 Idaho 2008 Minnesota 2008 Oregon 2008 Alaska 2010 (Republican write-in) Florida 2010 Indiana 2010 South Carolina 2010 Utah 2010 Indiana 2012 Maine 2012 Maryland 2012 Missouri 2012 Montana 2012 Vermont 2012* Kansas 2014 South Dakota 2014 Wyoming 2014 Alaska 2016 Arizona 2016 Idaho 2016 Indiana 2016 Kansas 2016 Maine 2018 New Mexico 2018 Vermont 2018* Alaska 2020* Arkansas 2020 Minnesota 2020 Nebraska 2020 Idaho 2022 North Dakota 2022 Utah 2022*
Gubernatorial (since 1940)	Minnesota 1940 Wisconsin 1940 Connecticut 1942 Minnesota 1942 New York 1942 Wisconsin 1942 North Dakota 1944 Wisconsin 1944 California 1946 Tennessee 1950 Maine 1952 Vermont 1952 Tennessee 1954 Nebraska 1956 Texas 1956 Utah 1956 Oklahoma 1958 Tennessee 1958 North Dakota 1960 Tennessee 1962 Virginia 1965 Alabama 1966 Georgia 1966 Idaho 1966 Maryland 1966 New York 1966 Tennessee 1966 Alabama 1970 Arkansas 1970 New Hampshire 1970 New York 1970 Mississippi 1971 New Hampshire 1972 Texas 1972 Washington 1972 Virginia 1973 Maine 1974 Nebraska 1974 Nevada 1974 Texas 1974 Vermont 1974 Vermont 1976 Alaska 1978 California 1978 Maine 1978 Rhode Island 1978 Alaska 1982 Arizona 1982 Hawaii 1982 Alaska 1986 Arizona 1986 Illinois 1986 Maine 1986 Oklahoma 1986 Vermont 1986 Utah 1988 Alaska 1990 Connecticut 1990 Kansas 1990 Maine 1990 New York 1990 Oklahoma 1990 Oregon 1990 Utah 1992 West Virginia 1992 Alaska 1994 Connecticut 1994 Hawaii 1994 Maine 1994 New Mexico 1994 Oklahoma 1994 Pennsylvania 1994 Rhode Island 1994 Vermont 1994 Alaska 1998 Maine 1998 Minnesota 1998 New York 1998 Pennsylvania 1998 Rhode Island 1998 Kentucky 1999 New Hampshire 2000 Vermont 2000 Arizona 2002 California 2002 Maine 2002 Minnesota 2002 New Mexico 2002 New York 2002 Oklahoma 2002 Vermont 2002 Wisconsin 2002 Alaska 2006 Illinois 2006 Maine 2006 Massachusetts 2006 Minnesota 2006 Texas 2006 Louisiana 2007 Vermont 2008 New Jersey 2009 Colorado 2010 Idaho 2010 Maine 2010 Massachusetts 2010 Minnesota 2010 Rhode Island 2010 Wyoming 2010 Kentucky 2011 Virginia 2013 Alaska 2014* Hawaii 2014 Maine 2014 Rhode Island 2014 Wyoming 2014 Maine 2018 Kansas 2018 Indiana 2020 Vermont 2020* Alaska 2022 Idaho 2022 Oregon 2022
Territorial Governors (since 1970)	U.S. Virgin Islands 1970 Puerto Rico 1972 District of Columbia 1974 U.S. Virgin Islands 1974 U.S. Virgin Islands 1978 Puerto Rico 1980 U.S. Virgin Islands 1986 Puerto Rico 1988 U.S. Virgin Islands 1990 U.S. Virgin Islands 1994 U.S. Virgin Islands 1998 Puerto Rico 2000 Northern Mariana Islands 2001 U.S. Virgin Islands 2002 Northern Mariana Islands 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands 2006 Northern Mariana Islands 2009 District of Columbia 2010 U.S. Virgin Islands 2010 District of Columbia 2014 Northern Mariana Islands 2014 U.S. Virgin Islands 2014 Puerto Rico 2016 District of Columbia 2018 Guam 2018 Northern Mariana Islands 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 Puerto Rico 2020 District of Columbia 2022 Northern Mariana Islands 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands 2022
Portal:Politics Third party (U.S. politics) List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections Third-party and independent members of the United States Congress