Oregon gubernatorial election, 2006
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The 2006 gubernatorial election in the U.S. state of Oregon took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ted Kulongoski defeated Republican Ron Saxton, winning his bid for a second term as Governor of Oregon.
The race featured hotly-contested primary elections for both the Republican and Democratic parties, a strong but short-lived run by State Senator Ben Westlund (as an independent), and controversy over the legitimacy of Constitution Party candidate Mary Starrett.
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[edit] Primary elections
Both the Democratic and Republican primary elections were actively contested.
On the Democratic side, numerous challengers considered running to succeed one-term incumbent Ted Kulongoski. Former Governor John Kitzhaber was discussed widely as a potential challenger, but ultimately declined to run. State Senator Vicki Walker, known for standing up to powerful utilities, also considered a run.[1] Former Treasurer and legislator Jim Hill and former state Senator and Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson ended up running against Kulongoski in the May primary election, which Kulongoski won.
A wide field of Republicans emerged to challenge Kulongoski. 2004 nominee, and party chairman Kevin Mannix was an early favorite. It was widely believed that a highly conservative candidate like Mannix (who has based much of his career on strong advocacy of victims' rights and other conservative social issues) faced an uphill battle in a left-leaning state. State Senator Jason Atkinson won strong support as a relative newcomer, but ultimately 2004 contender Ron Saxton - who had been widely regarded in 2004 as the most moderate Republican contender - emerged with the nomination.
State Senator Ben Westlund, formerly a Republican, dropped his party affiliation to run as an independent candidate. He built a strong campaign, likely gathering enough signatures to qualify for the General Election, but ultimately declined to do so (citing his desire not to run as a "spoiler".)
Three minor parties - Constitution, Green, and Libertarian - also nominated candidates for the November election.
Democratic Primary
| Source | Date | Ted Kulongoski | Jim Hill | Pete Sorenson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregonian | May 16, 2006 | 54.37% | 29.37% | 16.27% |
Republican Primary
| Source | Date | Ron Saxton | Kevin Mannix | Jason Atkinson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregonian | May 16, 2006 | 42.17% | 30.05% | 22.56% |
[edit] General Election Candidates
- Democratic Party
- Ted Kulongoski - Incumbent Governor [2]
- Republican Party
- Ron Saxton - Ex-Portland Public School Board Member, Attorney, and 2002 Gubernatorial Candidate [3]
- Constitution Party
- Mary Starrett - Ex radio & talk show host.
- Pacific Green Party
- Joe Keating - Ex director of the Oregon Wildlife Federation, chair of the Oregon Sierra Club from 1999 to 2000
- Libertarian Party
- Richard Morley
[edit] Election results
| 2006 gubernatorial election, Oregon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Ted Kulongoski (incumbent) | 698,562 | 50.8 | +1.8 | |
| Republican | Ron Saxton | 588,155 | 42.7 | -3.5 | |
| Constitution (Oregon) | Mary Starrett | 50,103 | 3.6 | n/a | |
| Green | Joe Keating | 19,978 | 1.5 | n/a | |
| Libertarian | Richard Morley | 16,751 | 1.2 | -3.4 | |
| Write-ins | 2,447 | 0.2 | 0 | ||
| Majority | 110,407 | 8.1 | |||
| Turnout | 1,375,995 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
[edit] Outlook and opinion polling
Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski won a three-candidate primary with 54%, and he faces a tough general election against moderate former Portland School Board member Ron Saxton. As of September 21, 2006, Kulongoski's approval rating was 36% according to a poll done by SurveyUSA.[4]
The plus side for Kulongoski is that former moderate Republican-turned-Independent candidate Ben Westlund withdrew from the race for governor on August 10, 2006, explaining that he did not want to be a spoiler [5]; and that Constitution Party candidate Mary Starrett was expected to take votes primarily away from Republican nominee Saxton. CQPolitics quoted Oregon State University political science professor Bill Lunch as explaining: "I think we’re ... likely to see 5-to-6 or 7-to-8 percent from Starrett. Even so, those numbers come right out of Saxton’s hide." [6]
| Source | Date | Kulongoski (D) | Saxton (R) | Starrett (C) | Morley (L) | Keating (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KATU/Oregonian | October 31, 2006 | 45% | 38% | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen | October 31, 2006 | 51% | 44% | |||
| Riley Research | October 25, 2006 | 47% | 36% | 4% | 1% | 1% |
| Riley Research | October 3, 2006 | 37% | 39% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen | October 1, 2006 | 47% | 42% | |||
| Rasmussen | September 25, 2006 | 47% | 38% | |||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | September 11, 2006 | 47.0% | 39.8% | 4.5% | 1.2% | |
| Zogby Interactive Poll | August 28, 2006 | 49.9% | 43.5% | |||
| Rasmussen | August 22, 2006 | 49% | 35% | |||
| Rasmussen | August 3, 2006 | 45% | 35% | |||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | July 24, 2006 | 49.0% | 42.2% | |||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | June 21, 2006 | 47.6% | 40.1% | |||
| Rasmussen | May 23, 2006 | 43% | 41% | |||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | March 22-27, 2006 | 46% | 38.8% | |||
| Rasmussen | February 27, 2006 | 47% | 33% |
[edit] References
- ^ Steves, David. "Walker puts decision on hold", The Register-Guard, December 1, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ Fogarty, Colin. "Kulongoski In For 2006 Race, Shakes Up Staff", November 22, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8923RAO0.html
- ^ SurveyUSA - 50 State Governor 09/21 Sort By State
- ^ "Ben Westlund Withdraws From Oregon Governor's Race", August 10, 2006.
- ^ Jesse Stanchak. "Opposite Outcomes for Outsiders a Boon for Oregon’s Kulongoski", CQPolitics.com, August 29, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division
- Oregonian Voter Guide
- Joe Keating for Governor
- Ted Kulongoski for Governor
- Rox Saxton for Governor
- Mary Starrett for Governor
[edit] See also
- Oregon statewide elections, 2006
- United States gubernatorial elections, 2006
- List of Oregon Governors
