1994 Kansas gubernatorial election

1994 Kansas gubernatorial election

←  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  →

Nominee Bill Graves Jim Slattery Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 526,113 333,589 Percentage 61.1% 38.9%

County results Graves:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Slattery:     50–60%

Governor before election Joan Finney Democratic Elected Governor Bill Graves Republican

The 1994 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Republican Bill Graves, the incumbent Secretary of State of Kansas, won the open seat vacated by the pending retirement of incumbent Democratic Governor Joan Finney. Graves defeated Democrat Jim Slattery, the congressman from the second congressional district. ^[1] Slattery himself defeated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jim Francisco and state representative Joan Wagnon in the Democratic primary.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Bill Graves, Secretary of State of Kansas

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jim Francisco, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
• Jim Slattery, U.S. Representative from Kansas's 2nd congressional district
• Joan Wagnon, State Representative from Topeka
• Fred Phelps, minister and disbarred lawyer

Results

Kansas gubernatorial election, 1994 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bill Graves	526,113	64.09%	+21.50%
	Democratic	Jim Slattery	294,733	35.91%	−12.68%
Total votes			820,846	100.00%	N/A
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
2. "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Kansas". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved June 9, 2025.