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Turnout | 46.8%8.5 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||
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Crist: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Davis: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Florida |
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Government |
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term. The election was won by then-Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General. The election was notable in that for the first time, the state elected a Republican governor in three consecutive elections.
Turnout for the 2006 election was down 8.5% from 2002 and down 2.7% from 1998. [2] With Republicans holding the seat, the state's governorship avoided being part of the wave in which Democrats netted a gain of six governorships across the nation. [3] This remains the last time that Charlie Crist won a statewide election in Florida as well as the last election that he ran as a Republican. This was the last time until 2022 that anyone was elected governor with a majority of the vote. As of 2024, this is the last time Florida simultaneously elected a United States Senate candidate and a gubernatorial candidate of different political parties.
Jim Davis won the Democratic primary on September 5. Davis was the Congressman from Florida's 11th congressional district and served in the Florida House of Representatives, where he also served as the Majority Leader. On September 13, Davis selected former state senator and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Daryl Jones of Miami as his running mate.
The Democratic primary turned heated as it approached primary day. Rod Smith attacked Jim Davis for a 1990 legislative vote denying restitution for two black men wrongfully imprisoned for murder. [4] Davis countered that Smith was a "pawn" of the sugar industry, and that "big business" and special interests were funding many of Smith's attack ads. [4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jim Davis | 405,879 | 47.32% | |
Democratic | Rod Smith | 353,161 | 41.17% | |
Democratic | Carol Castagnero | 45,161 | 5.267% | |
Democratic | Glenn Burkett | 32,984 | 3.85% | |
Democratic | John M. Crotty | 20,629 | 2.40% | |
Total votes | 857,814 | 100.00% |
Charlie Crist, the Republican candidate, won the primary on September 5 with 64% of the vote. [20] Crist was Florida's Attorney General at the time. Previously he was elected State Education Commissioner, and has served in the Florida Senate. He faced Bob Graham for his seat in the United States Senate in 1998. On September 13, 2006, Crist announced that State Representative Jeff Kottkamp of Cape Coral would be his running mate.
The GOP primary did not end up being very competitive. Crist touted experience in statewide offices, and a strong fundraising capability. He portrayed himself as relatively moderate on social issues, which created some misgivings among conservative Republicans in the state, but not nearly enough to sway the vote to Tom Gallagher. [4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Charlie Crist | 630,816 | 63.98% | |
Republican | Tom Gallagher | 330,165 | 33.49% | |
Republican | Vernon Palmer | 13,547 | 1.37% | |
Republican | Michael W. St. Jean | 11,458 | 1.16% | |
Total votes | 985,986 | 100.00% |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [37] | Lean R | November 6, 2006 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [38] | Lean R | November 6, 2006 |
Rothenberg Political Report [39] | Likely R | November 2, 2006 |
Real Clear Politics [40] | Lean R | November 6, 2006 |
Source | Date | Crist (R) | Davis (D) |
---|---|---|---|
Survey USA | November 6, 2006 | 49% | 47% |
Strategic Vision | November 6, 2006 | 51% | 44% |
Orlando Sentinel | November 3, 2006 | 50% | 43% |
Mason-Dixon [ permanent dead link ] | November 3, 2006 | 50% | 43% |
Strategic Vision | November 2, 2006 | 50% | 44% |
Zogby/WSJ | October 31, 2006 | 49.9% | 45.1% |
St. Petersburg Times | October 28, 2006 | 48% | 42% |
Rasmussen | October 26, 2006 | 52% | 41% |
Strategic Vision | October 25, 2006 | 51% | 42% |
Quinnipiac | October 23, 2006 | 46% | 44% |
Zogby/WSJ | October 19, 2006 | 50.2% | 41% |
Rasmussen | October 18, 2006 | 46% | 41% |
Rasmussen Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine | October 2, 2006 | 54% | 38% |
Strategic Vision | September 28, 2006 | 50% | 40% |
Zogby/WSJ | September 25, 2006 | 50.1% | 36.6% |
Rasmussen | September 19, 2006 | 45% | 40% |
Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 50.6% | 36.4% |
Rasmussen | September 5, 2006 | 45% | 41% |
Strategic Vision | August 30, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 52.4% | 38.5% |
Rasmussen Archived 2006-08-03 at the Wayback Machine | August 1, 2006 | 47% | 42% |
Quinnipiac | July 26, 2006 | 44% | 38% |
Strategic Vision | July 26, 2006 | 49% | 39% |
Mason-Dixon | July 24, 2006 | 48% | 32% |
Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 42.8% | 39.0% |
Quinnipiac | June 29, 2006 | 41% | 39% |
Rasmussen | June 29, 2006 | 49% | 35% |
Strategic Vision | June 28, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 42.5% | 39.8% |
Strategic Vision | May 25, 2006 | 48% | 40% |
Quinnipiac | May 24, 2006 | 37% | 40% |
Rasmussen | May 22, 2006 | 44% | 39% |
Rasmussen | April 21, 2006 | 44% | 33% |
Quinnipiac | April 19, 2006 | 37% | 39% |
Quinnipiac | February 22, 2006 | 40% | 36% |
Rasmussen | January 6, 2006 | 36% | 35% |
Rasmussen Archived 2005-11-25 at the Wayback Machine | November 16, 2005 | 38% | 41% |
Quinnipiac | November 15, 2005 | 39% | 40% |
Charlie Crist won by over 7 points, winning all Republican-leaning areas of Florida, as well as the notable "swing" region along the I-4 corridor (Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg). Davis performed well in the Democrat-leaning south Florida, Gainesville, and Tallahassee areas. Crist under-performed compared to his predecessor Jeb Bush, but still outpaced Davis, despite the low turnout. Reform Party candidate Max Linn received nearly 2% of the vote, but his sizeable haul of over 92,500 votes was still not enough to sway the election. Crist also won 18% of the African-American electorate, which outpaced previous Republicans' efforts in attracting this voting bloc in statewide elections.
Also on the ballot the same day was a constitutional amendment to raise the requirement for all future ballot initiatives to a supermajority (60%). Previously, constitutional amendments put on the ballot required only a simple majority (50% +1) to be approved, and led to some controversial amendments being put on the ballot. Support and opposition for the amendment fell loosely along party lines with Democrats generally opposing its passage. Both Crist and Davis publicly opposed the measure, [41] but it was passed anyway by the voters with a 55% margin - a higher margin than either candidate received.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Charlie Crist/Jeff Kottkamp | 2,519,845 | 52.20% | −3.81% | |
Democratic | Jim Davis/Daryl Jones | 2,178,289 | 45.10% | +1.94% | |
Reform | Max Linn | 92,595 | 1.90% | +1.90% | |
Independent | John Wayne Smith | 15,987 | 0.30% | ||
Independent | Richard Paul Dembinsky | 11,921 | 0.20% | ||
Independent | Karl C.C. Behm | 10,487 | 0.20% | ||
Write-ins | 147 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
Majority | 341,556 | 7.10% | −5.75% | ||
Turnout | 4,829,271 | ||||
Republican hold | Swing |
Rodney Warren Smith is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, Smith was a member of the Florida Senate from Gainesville from 2001 until 2006. Smith ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida in the 2006 election but lost to Congressman Jim Davis. In 2010, Smith was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Alex Sink in her campaign for Governor of Florida. From November 2010 through January 2013 Smith served as chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. In 2016, Smith again ran for a seat in the Florida Senate but was ultimately defeated by Keith Perry, a Republican and former state representative.
Charles Joseph Crist Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2012; he was previously a Republican before becoming an independent in 2010.
C. Thomas Gallagher III is an American politician, financier, and insurance agent from the state of Florida and a member of the Republican Party. Gallagher holds the distinction of having served more years as an elected state official than any other individual in Florida history. He began his career in the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1974 to 1987.
The 2006 United States House of Representatives Elections in Florida took place on November 7, 2006. Elections were held in Florida's 1st through 25th congressional districts.
George Stephen LeMieux is an American former politician who was a United States Senator from Florida from 2009 to 2011. He is chairman of the Florida-based law firm of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart and was chief of staff to Governor Charlie Crist. He was the Deputy Florida Attorney General and is credited with spearheading Crist's successful campaign for governor. In 2009, Crist appointed LeMieux as U.S. Senator to replace Mel Martínez, who resigned.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 2, 2010, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2010 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Attorney General Bill McCollum opted to run for run for Governor rather than seek reelection. The election was won by Republican Pam Bondi, a former assistant state attorney for Hillsborough County, who defeated Democrat Dan Gelber by a 54.8% to 41.1% margin. Bondi took office in January 2011.
The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Florida, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary elections for both the Republicans and Democrats took place on August 30, 2016.
St. Petersburg, Florida, held an election for mayor on August 27 and November 5, 2013. A non-partisan primary election was held on August 27, 2013. No candidate won a majority of the vote, so the top two finishers, incumbent Mayor Bill Foster and former State Representative Rick Kriseman, advanced to a runoff.
A special election for Florida's 13th congressional district was held March 11, 2014, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives, following the death of incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Young on October 18, 2013. Primary elections were held on January 14, 2014. Young, who had already announced that he would not be running for re-election in 2014, was re-elected in 2012 with 57 percent of the vote. With 100% of the precincts reporting, David Jolly was declared the winner.
The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside an election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Republican governor Rick Scott was term-limited and could not run for a third term, and he successfully ran for Florida's Class I Senate seat.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of Florida, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States.
The 2018 Florida Commissioner of Agriculture election occurred on November 6, 2018, to elect the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. Democrat Nikki Fried narrowly defeated Republican Matt Caldwell. Fried became the only statewide elected Democrat in Florida, as U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who had held Florida's Class I U.S. Senate seat since 2000, lost re-election.
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Florida, on November 4, 2014.
The 2022 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Florida, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Party governor Ron DeSantis won re-election in a landslide and defeated the Democratic Party nominee, former U.S. representative Charlie Crist, who previously served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 as a Republican and later as an Independent. No Democrat has been elected governor of Florida since 1994.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the 28 U.S. representatives from Florida, one from each of the state's 28 congressional districts. The primary was held on August 23, 2022. The elections coincided with the 2022 United States Senate election in Florida, other elections to the House of Representatives, other elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2021 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election was held on August 24, 2021, with a runoff on November 2 because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round. It elected the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida. Incumbent Democratic mayor Rick Kriseman was term-limited and could not seek a third term in office. Municipal elections in St. Petersburg are officially nonpartisan. Former Pinellas County commissioner Ken Welch easily defeated city councilor Robert Blackmon in the runoff. Candidates eliminated in the first round included city councilor Darden Rice, former state representative Wengay Newton, and restaurateur Pete Boland. Welch took office in January 2022, becoming the first black mayor of St. Petersburg.
The 2022 elections for the Florida State Senate took place on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, to elect state senators from all 40 districts. Although on ordinary years, 20 senators are elected at a time on a staggered basis, races following redistricting elect all 40 members to ensure that each member represents an equal number of constituents. The Republican Party expanded their Senate majority from 24 to 28, gaining a supermajority in the Senate. The concurrently held House elections also resulted in a supermajority, giving Republicans supermajority control of the legislature.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA-PVF) and Unified Sportsmen of Florida are pleased to inform you that both organizations have endorsed you for Governor of Florida in the 2006 Republican Primary.