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 Borough and census area results Palin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Knowles: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Alaska |
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The2006 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 7, 2006. FormerWasilla mayorSarah Palin defeated incumbent governorFrank Murkowski in the Republican primary, and then went on to defeat Democratic former governorTony Knowles and independentAndrew Halcro in the general election. Palin became the first governor of the state to be born after Alaskan statehood.
Palin would later become the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee in the2008 United States presidential election before resigning as governor in 2009.
Incumbent Frank Murkowski, first elected governor in 2002, ran for reelection but was defeated in a landslide in theRepublican primary by former Wasilla mayorSarah Palin on August 22, 2006. Murkowski's approval rating at the time of the election was 19%.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sarah Palin | 51,443 | 50.59 | |
| Republican | John Binkley | 30,349 | 29.84 | |
| Republican | Frank Murkowski (incumbent) | 19,412 | 19.09 | |
| Republican | Gerald Heikes | 280 | 0.28 | |
| Republican | Merica Hlatcu | 211 | 0.21 | |
| Total votes | 101,695 | 100.00 | ||
Former two-term GovernorTony Knowles and state lawmakerEric Croft competed for theDemocratic ticket for governor. Knowles had a substantial lead over Croft, both at the polls and with fundraising.[citation needed]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tony Knowles | 37,316 | 74.63 | |
| Democratic | Eric Croft | 11,952 | 23.90 | |
| Democratic | Bruce Lemke | 732 | 1.46 | |
| Total votes | 50,000 | 100.00 | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Lean R | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[6] | Lean R | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[7] | Lean R | November 6, 2006 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sarah Palin (R) | Tony Knowles (D) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen[8] | November 3, 2006 | 45% | 44% |
| Rasmussen[9] | October 9, 2006 | 47% | 40% |
| Rasmussen[10] | September 8, 2006 | 52% | 38% |
| Rasmussen[11] | August 3, 2006 | 51% | 38% |
| Ivan Moore Research[12] | June 7, 2006 | 39% | 43% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sarah Palin | 114,697 | 48.33% | −7.6% | |
| Democratic | Tony Knowles | 97,238 | 40.97% | +0.3% | |
| Independent | Andrew Halcro | 22,443 | 9.46% | n/a | |
| Independence | Don Wright | 1,285 | 0.54% | −0.4% | |
| Libertarian | Billy Toien | 682 | 0.29% | −0.2% | |
| Green | David Massie | 593 | 0.25% | −1.0% | |
| Write-in | 384 | 0.16% | +0.1% | ||
| Plurality | 17,459 | 7.36% | |||
| Turnout | 238,307 | 51.1% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | −7.6% | |||
 Alaska gubernatorial elections | |
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| Politics |  | |
| Books and media by Palin | ||
| Book and media coverage about Palin | ||
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