2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

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2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
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←  2002 November 7, 2006 2010  →
  BradhenryDEA.jpg ErnestIstook.jpg
Nominee Brad Henry Ernest Istook
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote616,135310,327
Percentage66.50%33.50%
2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2006 OK Governor election by precinct.svg
Henry:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Istook:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Tie:     50%     No votes
Governor before election

Brad Henry
Democratic

Elected Governor

Brad Henry
Democratic

The 2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic governor Brad Henry won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican U.S. representative Ernest Istook. Henry took 66.5% of the vote to Istook's 33.5% and swept all but three counties in the state. [1]

Contents

As of 2025, this remains the last time that a Democrat was elected Governor of Oklahoma, or along with the concurrent elections, won any statewide office. Republicans later swept all statewide executive offices on the 2010 ballot, as they did majorities in both state legislative chambers.

Background

Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of Oklahoma's history, the Oklahoma Republican Party had recently gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and held five of the state's six Congressional seats. [2] Henry's opponent, Republican Ernest Istook, was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.

As in many Southern states, Oklahoma has favored conservative Democrats to the more liberal members of the party. In his first term, Henry had supported some tax cuts and took centrist positions on many political hot button issues.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Brad Henry (incumbent) 226,957 85.82
Democratic Andrew W. Marr, Jr.37,51014.18
Total votes264,467 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Istook's strongest opponent in the primary was Bob Sullivan, who positioned himself as the only "non-career politician" in the race. [4] He ran ads featuring Gailard Sartain that attacked his opponents' "career politician" background. The Sartain ads were seen as over the top and may have hurt his chances. Sullivan said education was a top priority and had led an effort to place an initiative petition on the November 2006 ballot that would have required 65 percent of money earmarked for education be spent in the classroom. [5]

Results

Results by county Map legend .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Istook--70-80% Istook--60-70% Istook--50-60% Istook--40-50% Istook--30-40% Istook/Sullivan tie--30-40% Sullivan--30-40% Sullivan--40-50% 2006OKGOVGOP.svg
Results by county
Map legend
  •   Istook—70–80%
  •   Istook—60–70%
  •   Istook—50–60%
  •   Istook—40–50%
  •   Istook—30–40%
  •   Istook/Sullivan tie—30–40%
  •   Sullivan—30–40%
  •   Sullivan—40–50%
Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ernest Istook 99,650 54.71
Republican Bob Sullivan 56,34730.94
Republican James Allen Williamson 17,7699.76
Republican Jim Evanoff8,3704.60
Total votes182,136 100.00

General election

The incumbent Democratic governor Brad Henry won the election with more than 66 percent of the vote, beating Republican U.S. representative Ernest Istook. [1]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [6] Solid DNovember 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7] Safe DNovember 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report [8] Safe DNovember 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics [9] Safe DNovember 6, 2006

Polling

SourceDateBrad
Henry (D)		Ernest
Istook (R)
Survey USA [10] November 4, 200665%29%
Rasmussen [11] September 29, 200659%34%
Survey USA [12] September 26, 200664%33%
Rasmussen [13] September 6, 200654%33%
Survey USA [14] August 28, 200660%34%
Sooner Poll [15] July 17, 200657%29%
Rasmussen [16] May 7, 200650%39%

Results

2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Brad Henry (incumbent) 616,135 [1] 66.50% +23.2
Republican Ernest Istook 310,327 [1] 33.50%–9.1
Total votes926,462 100.00% n/a
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 2006 election results for governor (accessed May 28, 2010).
  2. ↑ Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Oklahoma Republican Party Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine ," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 28, 2010).
  3. 1 2 "Unavailable". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  4. ↑ Robert J. Sullivan, Jr.
  5. ↑ Allen, Cindy, "Governor, his challengers debate about leadership role," Enid News & Eagle , June 8, 2006 (accessed May 28, 2010).
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  8. ↑ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  10. ↑ Survey USA
  11. ↑ Rasmussen
  12. ↑ Survey USA
  13. ↑ Rasmussen
  14. ↑ Survey USA
  15. ↑ Sooner Poll
  16. ↑ Rasmussen

Official campaign websites (Archived)

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