2006 Oregon gubernatorial election

2006 Oregon gubernatorial election
	County results ; Kulongoski: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; Saxton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Ted Kulongoski; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Ted Kulongoski; Democratic

The 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski ran for a second and final term as governor. Kulongoski faced several challengers in his primary, whom he dispatched to win his party's nomination a second time, while Republican nominee Ron Saxton, the former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board and a candidate for governor in 2002 emerged from a crowded primary. Kulongoski and Saxton were initially going to be challenged in the general election by State Senator Ben Westlund, but Westlund withdrew his candidacy before the general election. There were multiple independent and third party challengers on the ballot as well. In a hard-fought campaign, Kulongoski won re-election by a surprisingly wide margin, winning his second term as governor.

As of 2023, this marks the last occasion in which the following counties have voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election: Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, and Wasco.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results by county:

Ted Kulongoski

  50–55%
  45–50%
  40–45%

Jim Hill

40–45%

Candidates

Ted Kulongoski, incumbent Governor of Oregon
Jim Hill, former Oregon State Treasurer, 2002 Democratic candidate for Governor of Oregon
Peter Sorenson, Lane County Commissioner

Results

Democratic Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ted Kulongoski (incumbent)	170,944	53.56
	Democratic	Jim Hill	92,439	28.96
	Democratic	Pete Sorenson	51,346	16.09
	Democratic	Write-ins	4,448	1.39
Total votes			319,177	100.00

Republican primary

Republican primary results by county:

Ron Saxton

  50–55%
  45–50%
  40–45%
  35–40%

Kevin Mannix

35–40%
30–35%

Jason Atkinson

45–50%
35–40%

Candidates

Ron Saxton, former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board
Kevin Mannix, former Oregon State Representative, 2002 Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon
Jason Atkinson, Oregon State Senator
W. Ames Curtright
Gordon Leitch
William E. Spidal
David W. Beem
Bob Leonard Forthan, perennial candidate

Results

Republican primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Saxton	125,286	41.69
	Republican	Kevin Mannix	89,553	29.80
	Republican	Jason Atkinson	67,057	22.31
	Republican	W. Ames Curtright	7,414	2.47
	Republican	Gordon Leitch	3,100	1.03
	Republican	William E. Spidal	2,537	0.84
	Republican	David W. Beem	1,659	0.55
	Republican	Bob Leonard Forthan	841	0.28
	Republican	Write-ins	3,107	1.03
Total votes			300,554	100.00

General election

Campaign

As the Democratic and Republican primaries intensified, State Senator Ben Westlund, a registered Republican, announced that he would run for governor as an independent.^[2] Though Westlund gathered the requisite signatures to be able to run, he eventually dropped out of the race in August, noting, "At the beginning of this campaign, I made a commitment to the people of Oregon, that I was in it to win it, and that I absolutely would not play a spoiler role."^[3] Constitution Party nominee Mary Starrett was widely perceived to win votes largely at the expense of Saxton's campaign.^[4]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[5]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[6]	Tilt D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[7]	Lean D	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[8]	Lean D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Poll source	Date administered	Ted Kulongoski (D)	Ron Saxton (R)	Mary Starrett (C)	Richard Morley (L)	Joe Keating (G)
KATU/Oregonian^[9]	October 31, 2006	45%	38%	6%	1%	1%
Rasmussen^[10]	October 31, 2006	51%	44%	—	—	—
Riley Research^[11]	October 25, 2006	47%	36%	4%	1%	1%
Riley Research^[12]	October 3, 2006	37%	39%	2%	1%	1%
Rasmussen^[13]	October 1, 2006	47%	42%	—	—	—
Rasmussen^[14]	September 25, 2006	47%	38%	—	—	—
Zogby Interactive Poll^[15]	September 11, 2006	47%	40%	5%	1%	—
Zogby Interactive Poll^[15]	August 28, 2006	50%	44%	—	—	—
Rasmussen^[16]	August 22, 2006	49%	35%	—	—	—
Rasmussen^[17]	August 3, 2006	45%	35%	—	—	—
Zogby Interactive Poll^[15]	July 24, 2006	49%	42%	—	—	—
Zogby Interactive Poll^[15]	June 21, 2006	48%	40%	—	—	—
Rasmussen^[18]	May 23, 2006	43%	41%	—	—	—
Zogby Interactive Poll^[19]	March 22–27, 2006	46%	39%	—	—	—
Rasmussen^[20]	February 27, 2006	47%	33%	—	—	—

Results

Oregon gubernatorial election, 2006^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ted Kulongoski (incumbent)	699,786	50.73%	+1.70%
	Republican	Ron Saxton	589,748	42.75%	−3.40%
	Constitution	Mary Starrett	50,229	3.64%
	Pacific Green	Joe Keating	20,030	1.45%
	Libertarian	Richard Morley	16,798	1.22%	−3.36%
	Write-ins		2,884	0.21%
Majority			110,038	7.98%	+5.10%
Turnout			1,379,475
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Clackamas (largest city: Lake Oswego)
Marion (largest city: Salem)
Wasco (largest city: The Dalles)

References

^ ^a ^b "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2006 Primary Election Official Results".
^ http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060215/NEWS0107/602150347/1001&nav_category=^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Ben Westlund Withdraws From Oregon Governor's Race". Salem-News.Com.
^ "KATU - Portland, Oregon - News - Radio talk show host Mary Starrett to run for governor". Archived from the original on December 14, 2006.
^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ KATU/Oregonian ^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Rasmussen
^ Riley Research Archived February 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ Riley Research Archived November 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen Archived October 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Zogby Interactive Poll
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen
^ Zogby Interactive Poll ^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Rasmussen
^ "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2006 General Election Official Results".

Official campaigns websites

[Primary_election_results-1] "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2006 Primary Election Official Results".

[2] ttp://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060215/NEWS0107/602150347/1001&nav_category=^{[permanent dead link]}

[3] "Ben Westlund Withdraws From Oregon Governor's Race". Salem-News.Com.

[4] "KATU - Portland, Oregon - News - Radio talk show host Mary Starrett to run for governor". Archived from the original on December 14, 2006.

[5] "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.

[6] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[7] "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[8] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[9] KATU/Oregonian ^{[permanent dead link]}

[10] Rasmussen

[11] Riley Research Archived February 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[12] Riley Research Archived November 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[13] Rasmussen Archived October 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[14] Rasmussen

[Zogby_Interactive_Poll-15] Zogby Interactive Poll

[16] Rasmussen

[17] Rasmussen Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[18] Rasmussen

[19] Zogby Interactive Poll ^{[permanent dead link]}

[20] Rasmussen

[21] "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2006 General Election Official Results".

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2006 Oregon gubernatorial election

Contents

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Campaign

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References