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| Elections in Oregon |
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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.
| 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 | ||
| 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 | ||
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]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[5] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[7] | Lean D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[8] | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Poll source | Date administered | Ted Kulongoski (D) |
Ron Saxton (R) |
Mary Starrett (C) |
Richard Morley (L) |
Joe Keating (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KATU/Oregonian[permanent dead link] | October 31, 2006 | 45% | 38% | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen | October 31, 2006 | 51% | 44% | — | — | — |
| Riley Research Archived February 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine | October 25, 2006 | 47% | 36% | 4% | 1% | 1% |
| Riley Research Archived November 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine | October 3, 2006 | 37% | 39% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen Archived October 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine | October 1, 2006 | 47% | 42% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen | September 25, 2006 | 47% | 38% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll | September 11, 2006 | 47% | 40% | 5% | 1% | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll | August 28, 2006 | 50% | 44% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen | August 22, 2006 | 49% | 35% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine | August 3, 2006 | 45% | 35% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll | July 24, 2006 | 49% | 42% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll | June 21, 2006 | 48% | 40% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen | May 23, 2006 | 43% | 41% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[permanent dead link] | March 22–27, 2006 | 46% | 39% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen | February 27, 2006 | 47% | 33% | — | — | — |
| 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 | ||||
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