2006 Alaska gubernatorial election

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2006 Alaska gubernatorial election
Flag of Alaska.svg
←  2002 November 7, 2006 2010  →
  Palin In Carson City On 13 September 2008.jpg Tony Knowles (D-AK) (cropped).jpg Andrew Halcro.webp
Nominee Sarah Palin Tony Knowles Andrew Halcro
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Running mate Sean Parnell Ethan Berkowitz Fay Von Gemmingen
Popular vote114,69797,23822,443
Percentage48.33%40.97%9.46%
2006 Alaska gubernatorial election results map by borough and census area.svg
Borough and census area results
Palin:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Knowles:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Governor before election

Frank Murkowski
Republican

Elected Governor

Sarah Palin
Republican

The 2006 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 7, 2006. The former mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin, defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary, and then went on to defeat former governor Tony Knowles in the general election. Palin became the first governor of the state to be born after Alaskan statehood.

Contents

Palin would later become the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, before resigning as governor in 2009.

Republican primary

Candidates

Incumbent Frank Murkowski (R), first elected governor in 2002, ran for reelection but was defeated in a landslide in the Republican primary by former Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin on August 22, 2006. Murkowski's approval rating at the time of the election was 19%. [1] Murkowski also faced opposition from former state lawmaker and Fairbanks businessman John Binkley.

Results

2006 Republican primary for Alaska governor [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Sarah Palin 51,443 50.59
Republican John Binkley 30,34929.84
Republican Frank Murkowski (incumbent)19,41219.09
Republican Gerald Heikes 2800.28
Republican Merica Hlatcu2110.21
Total votes101,695 100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Former two-term Governor Tony Knowles and state lawmaker Eric Croft competed for the Democratic ticket for governor. Knowles had a substantial lead over Croft, both at the polls and with fund raising.[ citation needed ]

Results

2006 Democratic primary for Alaska governor [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Tony Knowles 37,316 74.63
Democratic Eric Croft 11,95223.90
Democratic Bruce Lemke7321.46
Total votes50,000 100.00

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Republican candidate Sarah Palin, Democratic candidate Tony Knowles, and independent candidate Andrew Halcro faced each other in the general election. Anchorage businessman Andrew Halcro ran as an Independent in the race for governor. Halcro has served in the Alaska State legislature in the past, and is known as a fiscal hawk. Halcro collected about 4,000 signatures to be placed on the general election ballot without party affiliation. Despite Knowles' experience, Palin was able to win.

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [4] TossupNovember 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5] Lean RNovember 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report [6] Lean RNovember 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics [7] Lean RNovember 6, 2006

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s) administeredSarah
Palin (R)		Tony
Knowles (D)
Rasmussen [8] November 3, 200645%44%
Rasmussen [9] October 9, 200647%40%
Rasmussen [10] September 8, 200652%38%
Rasmussen [11] August 3, 200651%38%
Ivan Moore Research [12] June 7, 200639%43%

Results

2006 Alaska gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Sarah Palin 114,697 48.33% −7.6%
Democratic Tony Knowles 97,23840.97%+0.3%
Independent Andrew Halcro 22,4439.46%n/a
Independence Don Wright 1,2850.54%−0.4%
Libertarian Billy Toien6820.29%−0.2%
Green David Massie5930.25%−1.0%
Write-in 3840.16%+0.1%
Plurality17,4597.36%
Turnout 238,30751.1%
Republican hold Swing −7.6%

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SurveyUSA | APPROVAL RATINGS FOR ALL 50 GOVERNORS AS OF 08/22/06". SurveyUSA. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2005.
  2. ↑ "STATE OF ALASKA - 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION AUGUST 22, 2006 OFFICIAL RESULTS". Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  3. ↑ "PRIMARY ELECTION August 22, 2006 Primary Election Results". Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ Rasmussen
  9. ↑ Rasmussen
  10. ↑ Rasmussen
  11. ↑ Rasmussen
  12. ↑ Ivan Moore Research
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