Tom Sawyer (born April 15, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Kansas. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Sawyer graduated from Wichita State University with a BBA in Accounting in 1984. Sawyer was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1987. He became the party's House Leader, and through his 12-year legislative career served as both Majority Leader and Minority Leader. He is only the fourth Democrat to ever be elected Majority Leader of the Kansas House and the only Wichitan to hold that position in the last 30 years. In 1998 Sawyer won his party's nomination as candidate for governor, easily beating his next closest rival, the evangelical preacher Fred Phelps. In the general election, Sawyer lost and only managed to win 23% of the popular vote against popular incumbent Republican governor Bill Graves. After serving as State Chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party for four years, Sawyer was once again elected to the state legislature in 2002, and was re-elected in 2004 and 2006.
