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 County results Finney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hayden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1990 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican GovernorMike Hayden lost re-election to Democratic nomineeJoan Finney.[1]
TheState 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 firstfemale governor, she was Kansas' oldest governor at the age of 65 untilLaura Kelly took office at the age of 68 in 2019, Kansas' first Roman Catholic Governor, and one of the fewanti-abortion Democratic Governors at the time.[2]
As of 2025, this was the last time in which an incumbent Kansas Governor lost a general election.
Hayden was chosen as chair of theRepublican Governors Association. His term saw tax cuts and programs to combatsubstance abuse. A split in the Kansas Republican Party between moderates and conservatives considerably reduced other accomplishments. He was perceived as a moderate; onabortion, for instance, he took apro-choice position. Because of the legislative gridlock, he did not reinstate thedeath 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.
| 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 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
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