Democrat Robert Docking upset incumbent Republican Gov. William Avery, a former U.S. congressman, for the Kansas governorship. Docking became the first Democrat ever to unseat a GOP incumbent and posted a hefty victory margin of better than 61,000 votes. It was to be the first of four two-year terms for Bob Docking, a former Lawrence banker and resident, who currently lived and ran a bank in Arkansas City. His father, George, also a onetime Lawrence banker, had previously served as a Democratic governor.