# Mike Hayden John Michael Hayden (b. 1944), Republican **Governor of Kansas from 1987 to 1991**. He spent fourteen years in the Kansas House of Representatives (1973–1987), the last four as Speaker, before winning the governorship; he lost reelection in 1990. He later served as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks under Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius and her successor Mark Parkinson — a bipartisan service record that is part of why his 2026 endorsement carried weight. ## The Hamilton endorsement — October 2, 2026 Hayden endorsed Democrat [[Adam Hamilton]] over Republican incumbent [[Roger Marshall]] in [[KS-Sen-2026]], in an op-ed published in the *Wichita Eagle*. He is the **second former Republican governor of Kansas** to back Hamilton, after [[Bill Graves]] in September 2026. > [!quote] Mike Hayden, October 2, 2026 > "Governing should always center around the best interests of the people." His stated reasons were economic and specific to the farm economy rather than cultural: - "Chaotic tariffs are making it harder for Kansas farmers to sell what they grow." - "The war with Iran is causing record-high diesel prices, driving up the cost of planting, harvesting, and hauling, and more family farms are at risk of going bankrupt." - "Sen. Marshall time and again has chosen to back the tariffs and the war, despite what is happening back in Kansas." That framing matters for reading the 2026 cycle: the defection is not about Trump's personal conduct but about [[Tariffs]] and the Iran war as farm-input cost shocks. See [[Iran War 2026 Timeline]] and [[Affordability]]. > [!warning] Stub > See [[KS-Sen-2026]] and [[Adam Hamilton]]. His 1987–1991 governorship — the 1989 tax reappraisal fight that defined and ended it — is not yet covered here. Hayden's federal appointments after 1991 are reported in some profiles but have not been confirmed by a second source and are omitted. ## See also - [[Adam Hamilton]] — the Democrat he endorsed - [[Roger Marshall]] — the Republican incumbent he declined to back - [[Bill Graves]] — the first former Kansas Republican governor to endorse Hamilton - [[KS-Sen-2026]] — the race