# 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election

Elections in Georgia :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1788–89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1789
1792
1793
1794
1795
1798
1799
1800
1804
1806
1813
1816
1818
1819
1823
1824
1825
1828
1834
1837
1840
1843
1846
1847
1852
1858
1867
1871
1873
1877
1879
1883
1885
1888
1891
1894
1896
1900
1902
1909
1913
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1938
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020–21
2020–21 sp
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House elections
1789
1791
1792
1794
1796
1798
1800
1802
1804
1806
1808
1810
1812
1814
1816
1818
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1830
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
6
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
4
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Special elections
Senate
1796
1806
1807
1809
1813
1816
1818
1819
1821
1824
1828
1829
1833
1835
1837
1845
1880
1882
1894
1907
1911
1914
1922
1932
1972
2000
2020
House
At-large
1801
1802
1803
1806
1812
1813
1816
1819
1824
1829
1831
1835
1836
1837
1841
1843
1844
1st
1792
1827
1879
1906
1931
2nd
1827
1910
1913
1953
3rd
1846
1896
1932
4th
1871
1872
1918
1939
5th
1870
1929
1946
1977
2020
6th
1870
1932
1999
2017
7th
1958
1983
8th
1873
1882
1917
1940
9th
1875
1877
2010
10th
1895
1933
2007 :
State government
State elections
2000
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1825
1827
1829
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1868
1871 (sp)
1872
1876
1880
1882
1883 (sp)
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1946
1948
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
1946
1948
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
2014
2018
2022
State Senate elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Judicial elections
2024
Special elections
Governor
1871
1883
1948 :
Ballot measures
2004
Flag referendum
Amendment 1
2020
Amendment 1
Amendment 2
Tax referendum :
Atlanta
City elections
2009
Mayoral elections
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Savannah
Mayoral elections
2015
2019
2023 :
Mableton
Mayoral elections
2023 :
vte :
The 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Georgia incumbent Republican governor Sonny Perdue ran for re-election to a second and final term as governor. Governor Perdue was renominated by the Republican Party, defeating a minor opponent in the process, while Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor narrowly emerged victorious from a competitive Democratic primary. In the general election, though Taylor ran a spirited campaign, Perdue was aided by the increasing tendency of the state to vote for Republicans and by his popularity with the public; polling showed his approval ratings above sixty percent. In the end, Perdue was overwhelmingly re-elected as governor, defeating Taylor in a landslide, becoming the first Republican Governor of Georgia to ever be reelected. As of 2024, this is the last time that Muscogee, Warren, Rockdale, Chatham, and Bibb counties voted for the Republican candidate for governor and the last time that Marion, Telfair, and Wheeler counties voted for the Democratic candidate.
Exit polls showed that Perdue won white voters (68% to 27%) while Taylor won black voters (81% to 17%). As of 2024, Perdue's 17% of the African-American vote was the highest showing of any Republican seeking statewide office in Georgia.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Bill Bolton
* Cathy Cox, Secretary of State of Georgia
* Mac McCarley
* Mark Taylor, Lieutenant Governor of Georgia

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Mark Taylor | 249,188 | 52.1% |
| | Democratic | Cathy Cox | 211,978 | 44.3% |
| | Democratic | Bill Bolton | 10,552 | 1.7% |
| | Democratic | Mac McCarley | 10,399 | 0.6% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 482,117 | 100 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Ray McBerry, businessman
* Sonny Perdue, incumbent governor of Georgia

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Sonny Perdue (incumbent) | 370,756 | 88.4% |
| | Republican | Ray McBerry | 48,498 | 12.6% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 419,254 | 100 |

## General election
### Fundraising

Perdue had more financial resources on hand than Taylor. As of the March 31 filing, Perdue reported that he had over $8.2 million on hand, while Taylor had $4.2 million in reserve. Perdue had the added advantage of facing a weak opponent in Ray McBerry in the primary election, while Cox and Taylor engaged in a bitter struggle for the Democratic nomination. Garrett Hayes, the Libertarian candidate, reported less than $1,000 on hand, though the October 31 Zogby poll showed him attracting a surprising 9.1 percent of polled voters.

### Advertisements

A minor controversy developed during the primary campaign over an ad created by Georgians for Truth, a group founded by several prominent Democratic fundraisers. The ad criticized Perdue for allegedly failing to pay his taxes for several years before becoming governor, allegations that had been made in the 2002 campaign as well. Cox and Taylor, for reasons that are not clear, requested that the group not run the ad, prompting the Georgia Democratic Party chairman, Bobby Kahn, to strongly rebuke the group's members.

### Predictions

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

### Campaign issues
#### Education

* The HOPE Scholarship program and its stability and continued solvency are recurring issues in Georgia politics. Citing budget constraints, Perdue signed Republican-sponsored legislation that significantly cut the benefits conferred by the program. Cox and Taylor both severely criticized the governor for these actions, and both pointed to the fact that Perdue voted against the legislation creating the program as a state senator in 1993. Perdue backed an amendment to the state constitution that would have shifted the allocation of the lottery funds that support the program, but the legislation was defeated.
       On April 19, 2006, Cox charged that Taylor had not sponsored the HOPE scholarship legislation in 1993, as he claimed. Taylor apparently sponsored a companion bill that did not pass, although he supported the bill that did pass. The incident portended a strongly negative campaign for the Democratic nomination.
* College tuition may also be an issue. During Perdue's first term, Georgia's universities substantially increased tuition fees.
* School funding: Perdue successfully backed legislation that requires Georgia schools to spend at least 65% of their budgets "in the classroom". Democrats charged that some school programs, such as music classes, do not fit the definition of "in the classroom."

#### Health care

* PeachCare, a state program providing medical care for needy children and families, emerged as a point of contention between Perdue and his challengers. Perdue approved a cut in the program during his administration. Taylor, a strong supporter of the program, was particularly vocal in attacking Perdue and advocating significant expansion of the program.
* Perdue made Medicaid reform a priority during his first term. Democrats were critical of the reform proposal that Perdue presented to federal officials.

#### Immigration

The problem presented by illegal immigrants emerged during Georgia's 2006 legislative session as an issue likely to have a large impact on the gubernatorial campaign. Perdue signed legislation restricting the ability of illegal immigrants to access state resources, including health care and public education.

#### Voting

* Voter identification legislation signed by Perdue requiring photo identification for voting while expanding absentee voting opportunities had a substantial impact on the campaign. Democrats strongly denounced the legislation as discriminatory against the poor and elderly, while Republicans attempted to alleviate such concerns by providing access to photo identification for those not possessing it.
* Paper ballots were a major concern of Taylor supporters, who felt that Cox made a mistake when she brought electronic voting to Georgia as secretary of state.

### Polling

| Source | Date | Taylor (D) | Perdue (R) | Hayes (L) |
| Strategic Vision | Nov. 1, 2006 | 36% | 52% | 5% |
| Strategic Vision | Oct. 25, 2006 | 32% | 51% | 9% |
| Strategic Vision | September 27, 2006 | 39% | 51% | 4% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 34.9% | 47.4% | 8.1% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 40.7% | 51.3% |
| Strategic Vision | August 23, 2006 | 41% | 54% |
| Rasmussen | August 4, 2006 | 39% | 53% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 39.3% | 52.1% |
| Strategic Vision | June 28, 2006 | 44% | 50% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 40% | 48.6% |
| Strategic Vision | May 10, 2006 | 39% | 51% |
| Rasmussen | May 6, 2006 | 36% | 51% |
| Rasmussen | March 26, 2006 | 41% | 51% |
| Strategic Vision | March 8, 2006 | 33% | 57% |
| Rasmussen | Feb 16, 2006 | 33% | 53% |
| Strategic Vision | Jan 25, 2006 | 36% | 57% |
| Strategic Vision | Dec 7, 2005 | 38% | 55% |
| Strategic Vision | Oct 26, 2005 | 37% | 55% |
| Strategic Vision | Aug 4, 2005 | 40% | 52% |
| Strategic Vision | May 13, 2005 | 42% | 50% |
| Strategic Vision | Feb 11, 2005 | 44% | 50% |

### Results

Georgia gubernatorial election, 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Sonny Perdue (incumbent) | 1,229,724 | 57.95% | +6.53% |
| | Democratic | Mark Taylor | 811,049 | 38.22% | −8.03% |
| | Libertarian | Garrett Michael Hayes | 81,412 | 3.83% | +1.50% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 418,675 | 19.73% | +14.56% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,122,185 | | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Early (largest city: Blakely)
* McIntosh (largest municipality: Darien)
* Lowndes (largest city: Valdosta)
* Burke (largest municipality: Waynesboro)
* Chatham (largest city: Savannah)
* Washington (largest municipality: Sandersville)
* Sumter (largest city: Americus)
* Jefferson (largest city: Louisville)
* Muscogee (largest city: Columbus)
* Meriwether (largest municipality: Manchester)
* Telfair (largest municipality: McRae-Helena)
* Bibb (largest city: Macon)
* Wheeler (largest city: Alamo)
* Wilkes (largest city: Washington)
* Grady (largest city: Cairo)
* Thomas (largest town: Thomasville)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Dooly (largest city: Vienna) (previously tied)