2002 Kansas gubernatorial election

2002 Kansas gubernatorial election
	County results; Sebelius: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Shallenburger: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; Tie: 40–50%
Governor before election; Bill Graves; Republican	Elected Governor ; Kathleen Sebelius; Democratic

The 2002 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Governor Bill Graves, a Republican, was barred from seeking a third term by the Kansas Constitution. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius, the Democratic nominee, ran against Kansas State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, the Republican nominee, with Sebelius defeating Shallenburger to become the second female Governor of Kansas after Joan Finney who served as governor from 1991 to 1995.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas Insurance Commissioner

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Sebelius	87,499	100.00
Total votes			87,499	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Tim Shallenburger, Kansas State Treasurer (1999–present) and former state representative (1987-1998)
- Running mate: Dave Lindstrom, former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end and businessman
Dave Kerr, Kansas State Senator
- Running mate: Mary Birch, former president of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce (1984-2002)
Bob Knight, Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
- Running mate: Kent Glasscock, Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives (2001-2003) and state representative (1991-2003), was Carla Stovall's running mate until she dropped out.
Dan Bloom, real estate developer and former Superintendent of the Eudora school district^[2]
- Running mate: Eric Bloom, architectural engineering student^[3]

Withdrawn

Carla Stovall, Kansas Attorney General (1995-2003).
- Running mate: Kent Glasscock, Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives (2001-2003) and state representative (1991-2003)

Initially, Stovall was one of the presumed "front-runner" candidates, and her anticipated run against the probable Democratic nominee, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius, drew national attention as becoming possibly a rare "woman-vs.-woman" gubernatorial race.^[4]^[5] Though the front-runner among moderate candidates^[6]^[7] — and confident that she would win if she stayed in the race^[7] — Stovall dropped out in April, 2002, citing a lack of enthusiasm for campaigning, and for the job of governor,^[7]^[8] and announced plans to marry Kansas media mogul Larry Steckline, whom she married in August.^[9]^[10]

Stovall's abrupt withdrawal threw the moderate wing of the Kansas Republican Party into chaos, as they scrambled to replace her.^[6]^[7] Kent Glasscock, her running mate, was the heir-apparent, and claimed entitlement to Stovall's campaign funds,^[7] but conservative opponent Tim Shallenberger, the incumbent State Treasurer, argued that the funds, per his interpretation of state law, had to be returned to the state Republican party, or to the donors, a charity, or the state government's general revenue fund.^[7] Additional Republican candidates began to emerge, also, further complicating the race.^[7] Glasscock ultimately became a running mate for gubernatorial candidate Bob Knight.^[11]

Stovall's withdrawal was credited with giving advantage to the Democratic nominee (and ultimate victor), Katheleen Sebelius.^[6]^[8]^[12]

Results

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Shallenburger	122,141	41.47
	Republican	Dave Kerr	86,995	29.54
	Republican	Bob Knight	77,642	26.36
	Republican	Dan Bloom	7,726	2.62
Total votes			294,504	100.00

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[13]	Lean D (flip)	October 31, 2002
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[14]	Lean D (flip)	November 4, 2002

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Kathleen Sebelius (D)	Tim Shallenburger (R)	Dennis Hawver (L)	Theodore Pettibone (Reform)	Other / undecided
SurveyUSA	October 31 – November 2, 2002	704 (LV)	± 3.8%	51%	44%	2%	1%	2%

Results

Kansas gubernatorial election, 2002^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kathleen Sebelius	441,858	52.87%	+30.22%
	Republican	Tim Shallenburger	376,830	45.09%	-28.28%
	Reform	Theodore Pettibone	8,907	1.07%	+0.01%
	Libertarian	Dennis Hawver	8,097	0.97%
Majority			65,028	7.78%	-42.93%
Turnout			835,692
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing