# 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Huckabee was barred from seeking candidacy due to term limits set by the State Constitution in 1998, stating that the governor may only serve two terms in their lifetime. Democratic State Attorney General Mike Beebe, defeated Republican former U.S. representative Asa Hutchinson by a wide margin. This was the first open seat election since 1978. Hutchinson later won the governorship in 2014 when Beebe was term limited.

## Democratic primary
### Nominee

* Mike Beebe, Arkansas Attorney General

## Republican primary
### Nominee

* Asa Hutchinson, former administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, former U.S. representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district (1997–2001)

### Died

* Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, Lieutenant Governor

## Independents
### Declared

* Rod Bryan, bass player for Ho-Hum and owner of Anthro-Pop Records

## General election
### Debates

2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election debates :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Asa Hutchinson | Mike Beebe |
| 1 | Oct. 4, 2006 | KEZA KHBS KHOG Morning News of Northwest Arkansas | Craig Cannon | C-SPAN | P | P |
| 2 | Oct. 17, 2006 | KARK-TV William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum | Bob Clausen | C-SPAN | P | P |

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Lean D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
| Inside Elections | Likely D (flip) | November 2, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics | Lean D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Asa Hutchinson (R) | Mike Beebe (D) | Other | Undecided |
| SurveyUSA | November 3–5, 2006 | 549 | ± 4.3% | 42% | 51% | 4% | 3% |
| SurveyUSA | October 22–24, 2006 | 572 | ± 4.1% | 38% | 58% | 3% | 1% |
| SurveyUSA | September 25–26, 2006 | 493 | ± 4.5% | 40% | 55% | 3% | 2% |
| SurveyUSA | August 27–29, 2006 | 538 | ± 4.3% | 38% | 51% | 0% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA | July 14–16, 2006 | 509 | ± 4.4% | 38% | 48% | — | 13% |
| SurveyUSA | January 22–23, 2006 | 506 | ± 4.4% | 45% | 46% | 4% | 5% |
| SurveyUSA | December 3–5, 2005 | 684 | ± 3.8% | 44% | 49% | 4% | 3% |

### Endorsements
#### Individuals

* Wesley Clark, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate

### Results

Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Mike Beebe | 430,765 | 55.61% | +8.65% |
| | Republican | Asa Hutchinson | 315,040 | 40.67% | −12.35% |
| | Independent | Rod Bryan | 15,767 | 2.04% | N/A |
| | Green | Jim Lendall | 12,774 | 1.65% | N/A |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 334 | 0.04% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 774,680 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Arkansas (Largest city: Stuttgart)
* Calhoun (Largest city: Hampton)
* Cleburne (Largest city: Heber Springs)
* Cleveland (Largest city: Rison)
* Columbia (Largest city: Magnolia)
* Franklin (Largest city: Ozark)
* Garland (Largest city: Hot Springs)
* Grant (Largest city: Sheridan)
* Howard (Largest city: Nashville)
* Independence (Largest city: Batesville)
* Johnson (Largest city: Clarksville)
* Logan (Largest city: Booneville)
* Miller (Largest city: Texarkana)
* Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Ida)
* Perry (Largest city: Perryville)
* Pike (Largest city: Glenwood)
* Prairie (Largest city: Des Arc)
* Scott (Largest city: Waldron)
* Sharp (Largest city: Cherokee Village)
* Stone (Largest city: Mountain View)
* Union (Largest city: El Dorado)
* Van Buren (Largest city: Clinton)
* Washington (Largest city: Fayetteville)
* White (Largest city: Searcy)
* Yell (Largest city: Dardanelle)
* Cross (Largest city: Wynne)
* Faulkner (Largest city: Conway)
* Drew (Largest city: Monticello)