2014 Kansas gubernatorial election
The 2014 Kansas gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Kansas. It was held concurrently with the [2014 United States Senate 2014 United States Senate election in Kansas|election in Kansas|election] of Kansas' Class II U.S. Senate seat, elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Republican governor Sam Brownback ran for re-election to a second term. He was opposed in the general election by Democrat Paul Davis, the minority leader of the Kansas House of Representatives, and Libertarian attorney Keen Umbehr.
The election was viewed as a referendum on Brownback's aggressive tax cutting initiatives and his conservative values. The consensus among The Cook Political Report, Governing, The Rothenberg Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, Daily Kos Elections, and others was that the contest was a tossup. Brownback won the election by a margin of 3.69%. Davis carried seven counties, all in eastern Kansas. This is the last gubernatorial election in which a Democratic candidate won Jefferson County, as well as the last time that a candidate was elected governor of Kansas by winning a majority of counties.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Sam Brownback, incumbent governor
- Jennifer Winn, businesswoman
Declined
- Kris Kobach, secretary of state of Kansas
- Steve Morris, former president of the Kansas Senate
- Sandy Praeger, Kansas Insurance Commissioner
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Paul Davis, minority leader of the Kansas House of Representatives
Declined
- Carl Brewer, mayor of Wichita
- Jill Docking
- Tom Holland, state senator and nominee for governor in 2010
- Deb Miller, former secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation
- Stephen Morris, former Republican president of the Kansas Senate
- Mark Parkinson, former governor, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living
- Sandy Praeger, Republican Kansas Insurance Commissioner
- Joe Reardon, former mayor of Kansas City
- Joshua Svaty, vice president of The Land Institute and former Secretary of Agriculture of Kansas
Libertarian nomination
Candidates
Declared
- Keen Umbehr, attorney
General election
Debates
- , September 6, 2014 - C-SPAN
- , October 21, 2014 - C-SPAN
Polling
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Carl Brewer | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 44% | 40% | — | 15% |
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Tom Holland | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 45% | 38% | — | 17% |
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Mark Parkinson | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 45% | 39% | — | 16% |
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Joe Reardon | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 45% | 36% | — | 19% |
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Kathleen Sebelius | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 48% | 43% | — | 9% |
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Brownback | Chad Taylor | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 21–24, 2013 | 1,229 | ± 2.8% | 44% | 34% | — | 22% |