2006 Colorado gubernatorial election

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2006 Colorado gubernatorial election
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←  2002 November 7, 2006 2010  →
  Bill Ritter official photo (cropped 2).jpg Beauprez.jpg
Nominee Bill Ritter Bob Beauprez
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Barbara O'Brien Janet Rowland
Popular vote887,986625,886
Percentage56.99%40.17%
2006 Colorado gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Ritter:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Beauprez:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election

Bill Owens
Republican

Elected Governor

Bill Ritter
Democratic

The 2006 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Owens was unable to run due to term limits, and the election was won by Democratic nominee Bill Ritter.

Contents

With his win, Democrats obtained a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1963. As of 2024, this is the last time the Governor's office in Colorado changed partisan control.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

In the leadup to the Democratic primary, Bill Ritter, the former District Attorney of Denver, emerged as the leading Democratic candidate. Though several other prominent state Democrats, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper [1] and State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, [2] considered running for Governor, both ultimately declined to do so. State Representative Gary Lindstrom, the only other candidate besides Ritter in the race, ended his campaign on February 28, 2006. [3] Ritter's personal opposition to abortion motivated pro-choice leaders in the state party to seek alternatives to him, [4] but none ultimately materialized, and opposition to Ritter softened with his pledge to not alter the state's liberal abortion laws. [5]

Results

Democratic primary results [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bill Ritter 142,586 100.00
Total votes142,586 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

With popular two-term Governor Bill Owens barred from seeking re-election, an open race developed for the Republican nomination to succeed him. The race looked like it would be between Congressman Bob Beauprez, who represented the swingy Denver suburbs in Congress, and former University of Denver President Marc Holtzman. The race between Beauprez and Holtzman was contentious. Beauprez accused Holtzman of ethics violations, including making false allegations that the campaign's email list was stolen, [7] providing falsified poll results to the Denver Post , and using a separate state campaign committee as a "shadow gubernatorial campaign." [8] Holtzman, meanwhile, accused Beauprez of being part of the "politics of power" that he argued had taken the party away from its conservative values, pointing to Beauprez's support of Referendum C in 2005, which allowed the state to hold onto excess tax revenues rather than refund surpluses. [9]

In the end, the campaign between the two frontrunners fizzled. Beauprez won a landslide victory at the state Republican convention, denying Holtzman a spot on the ballot. Holtzman's efforts to collect signatures to win a spot on the ballot were ultimately in vain, with the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in June that he had failed to submit enough signatures. In response, Holtzman suspended his campaign and endorsed Beauprez, who won the Republican primary unopposed. [7]

Results

Republican primary results [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bob Beauprez 193,804 100.00
Total votes193,804 100.00

Campaign

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [10] Likely D (flip)November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [11] Likely D (flip)November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report [12] Likely D (flip)November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics [13] Likely D (flip)November 6, 2006

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s) administeredBill
Ritter (D)		Bob
Beauprez (R)
Survey USA [14] November 2, 200657%35%
Zogby/WSJ [15] October 31, 200646.4%46.6%
Rasmussen [16] October 29, 200651%39%
Survey USA [17] October 23, 200656%38%
Zogby/WSJ [15] October 19, 200646.7%44.7%
Mason Dixon [18] October 7, 200650%35%
Survey USA [19] September 28, 200655%38%
Rasmussen [20] September 26, 200650%34%
Rocky Mountain News [21] September 18, 200650%33%
Zogby/WSJ [22] September 11, 200647.5%38.9%
Zogby/WSJ [22] August 28, 200646.0%38.7%
Survey USA [23] August 17, 200650%40%
Rasmussen [24] August 11, 200648%39%
Zogby/WSJ [22] July 24, 200642.8%40.9%
Mason Dixon [25] July 17, 200642%35%
Rasmussen [26] July 10, 2006**42%37%
Zogby/WSJ [22] June 21, 200644.2%36.1%
Rasmussen [27] June 8, 200643%38%
Rasmussen [28] May 5, 200637%39%
Rasmussen [29] April 5, 200641%40%
Rasmussen [30] February 25, 200640%33%
Rasmussen [31] January 26, 200638%39%

Results

2006 Colorado gubernatorial election [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Bill Ritter 887,986 56.99% +23.33%
Republican Bob Beauprez 625,88640.17%−22.46%
Libertarian Dawn Winkler-Kinateder23,3231.50%+0.04%
Independent Paul Noel Fiorino10,9960.71%—
Constitution Clyde J. Harkins9,7160.62%+0.62%
Write-ins 3700.02%—
Majority262,10016.82%−12.15%
Turnout 1,558,277
Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Hickenlooper Won't Run for Governor". Summit Daily News. Breckenridge, Colorado. February 6, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Romanoff Passes on Governor's Race". Denver Business Journal. Denver, Colorado. January 4, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Lindstrom Drops out of Governor's Race". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado. February 28, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  4. ↑ Riccardi, Nicholas (April 15, 2006). "Democrat Sidesteps the Abortion Plank". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles, California . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  5. ↑ Crummy, Karen (February 14, 2006). "Ritter Walks Tightrope with Abortion Stance". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Coffman, Mike (2006). Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2005 Coordinated, 2006 Primary, 2006 General (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Colorado Secretary of State.
  7. 1 2 Crummy, Karen (June 22, 2006). "Holtzman's Run is Done". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  8. ↑ Crummy, Karen (May 1, 2006). "Holtzman Calls Outside Probe Unnecessary". Denver Post . Denver, Colorado . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ Roper, Peter (January 6, 2006). "Holtzman to GOP: 'Take Back the Party'". Pueblo Chieftain . Pueblo, Colorado . Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  12. ↑ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ Survey USA
  15. 1 2 Zogby/WSJ
  16. ↑ Rasmussen
  17. ↑ Survey USA
  18. ↑ Mason Dixon
  19. ↑ Survey USA
  20. ↑ Rasmussen
  21. ↑ Rocky Mountain News
  22. 1 2 3 4 Zogby/WSJ
  23. ↑ Survey USA
  24. ↑ Rasmussen
  25. ↑ Mason Dixon [ permanent dead link ]
  26. ↑ Rasmussen
  27. ↑ Rasmussen
  28. ↑ Rasmussen
  29. ↑ Rasmussen Archived 2006-04-06 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ↑ Rasmussen
  31. ↑ Rasmussen

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