The 1986 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Democratic Governor
John W. Carlin
John William Carlin (born August 3, 1940) is an American educator and politician who served as the 40th governor of Kansas from 1979 to 1987, and the archivist of the United States from May 30, 1995, to February 15, 2005. He is a member of the ...
did not run for re-election. Republican nominee
Mike Hayden
John Michael Hayden (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Kans ...
, then Speaker of the
Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...
, beat the Democratic nominee
Thomas Docking, who was then the incumbent
Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
The lieutenant governor of Kansas is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of Kansas state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the o ...
.
This was the last gubernatorial election in Kansas in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president until
Laura Kelly
Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)["Laura Kelly,"](_blank)
''Kansapedia,'' Kansas H ...
's victory in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Candidates
Democratic
*
Thomas Docking, incumbent
Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
The lieutenant governor of Kansas is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of Kansas state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the o ...
Republican
*
Mike Hayden
John Michael Hayden (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Kans ...
, Speaker of the
Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...
*
Jack Brier,
Secretary of State of Kansas
The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on Ja ...
General Election
Results
References
{{United States elections, 1986
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
Gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
November 1986 in the United States