Bill Graves

Bill Graves
43rd Governor of Kansas
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003
LieutenantSheila Frahm
Gary Sherrer
Preceded byJoan Finney
Succeeded byKathleen Sebelius
28th Secretary of State of Kansas
In office
January 12, 1987 – January 9, 1995
GovernorMike Hayden
Joan Finney
Preceded byJack Brier
Succeeded byRon Thornburgh
Personal details
BornWilliam Preston Graves
(1953-01-09) January 9, 1953 (age 73)
Salina, Kansas, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Linda Richey
​
(m. 1990)​
Children1
EducationKansas Wesleyan University (BA)

William Preston Graves (born January 9, 1953) is an American former politician who was the 43rd governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life

Graves was born in Salina, Kansas on January 9, 1953. His parents owned a trucking firm. After graduating from Kansas Wesleyan University with a business degree, he worked in human resources.

Career

In 1986, he was elected Kansas Secretary of State and in 1991, he was appointed as a representative of state governments to the Competitiveness Policy Council.

He defeated Democratic Congressman Jim Slattery in the Republican sweeping elections of 1994 at the age of 41. In 1997 Graves was the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association.

He won re-election in 1998 with the largest percentage of votes in Kansas gubernatorial history. Graves was ineligible to run for a third term as governor by Kansas state law, and was succeeded by Democrat Kathleen Sebelius in January 2003. Serving with him as lieutenant governor were Sheila Frahm (1995–1996), whom he appointed to fill Bob Dole's seat in the Senate, and Gary Sherrer (1996–2003).

Post-gubernatorial tenure

Following his tenure as governor, he became president of the American Trucking Associations.

In the 2018 race for governor, Graves endorsed Democratic candidate and eventual winner Laura Kelly over Republican Kris Kobach. Four years later, Graves again endorsed Kelly as she won re-election over Republican Derek Schmidt. In the 2026 U.S. Senate election, Graves endorsed Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton over incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall.

Personal life

Bill Graves married Linda Richey in 1990, and they have one daughter.

Electoral history

1994 Kansas gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Graves 526,113 64.09
Democratic Jim Slattery 294,733 35.91
Total votes 820,846 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic
1998 Kansas gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Graves (incumbent) 544,882 73.37% +9.27%
Democratic Tom Sawyer 168,243 22.65% −13.25%
Constitution Kirt Poovey 21,710 2.92%
Reform Darrel King 7,830 1.05%
Majority 376,639 50.71% +22.53%
Turnout 742,665
Republican hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Gov. Bill Graves". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ American Trucking Associations Archived January 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Woodall, Hunter (September 4, 2018). "Former GOP governor of Kansas endorses Democrat Laura Kelly over Kris Kobach". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves once again endorses Laura Kelly in gubernatorial election". KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  5. ↑ Newton, Ryan (September 9, 2026). "Former Republican Kansas governor endorses Adam Hamilton in US Senate race". ksn.com. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ Adams, DiAnna. "The State of Kansas Governor Bill Graves: First Lady's Biography". Archived from the original on November 7, 2002.
  7. ↑ "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Kansas". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ "1998 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Kansas". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 23, 2026.