# 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election

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vte :
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.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Ted Kulongoski, incumbent Governor of Oregon
* Jim Hill, former Oregon State Treasurer, 2002 Democratic candidate for Governor of Oregon
* Peter Sorenson, Lane County Commissioner

### Results

Democratic Primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 319,177 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Ron Saxton, former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board
* Kevin Mannix, former Oregon State Representative, 2002 Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon
* Jason Atkinson, Oregon State Senator
* W. Ames Curtright
* Gordon Leitch
* William E. Spidal
* David W. Beem
* Bob Leonard Forthan, perennial candidate

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 300,554 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Campaign

As the Democratic and Republican primaries intensified, State Senator Ben Westlund, a registered Republican, announced that he would run for governor as an independent. 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." Constitution Party nominee Mary Starrett was widely perceived to win votes largely at the expense of Saxton's campaign.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Tilt D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Lean D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date administered | Ted Kulongoski (D) | Ron Saxton (R) | Mary Starrett (C) | Richard Morley (L) | Joe Keating (G) |
| KATU/Oregonian | October 31, 2006 | 45% | 38% | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen | October 31, 2006 | 51% | 44% | — | — | — |
| Riley Research | October 25, 2006 | 47% | 36% | 4% | 1% | 1% |
| Riley Research | October 3, 2006 | 37% | 39% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen | 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 | 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 | March 22–27, 2006 | 46% | 39% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen | February 27, 2006 | 47% | 33% | — | — | — |

### Results

Oregon gubernatorial election, 2006 :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 110,038 | 7.98% | +5.10% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,379,475 | | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Clackamas (largest city: Lake Oswego)
* Marion (largest city: Salem)
* Wasco (largest city: The Dalles)