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 County results Kulongoski: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Saxton: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2006 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. IncumbentDemocraticGovernor of OregonTed 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, whileRepublican nomineeRon Saxton, the former chair of thePortland Public Schools Board and a candidate for governor in2002 emerged from a crowded primary. Kulongoski and Saxton were initially going to be challenged in the general election byState SenatorBen Westlund, but Westlund withdrew his candidacy before the general election. There were multipleindependent andthird 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 2025, this marks the last occasion in which the following counties have voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election:Clackamas,Columbia,Marion, andWasco.
| 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 | 319,177 | 100.00 | ||
| 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 | 300,554 | 100.00 | ||
As the Democratic and Republican primaries intensified,State SenatorBen Westlund, a registered Republican, announced that he would run for governor as anindependent.[2] 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."[3]Constitution Party nominee Mary Starrett was widely perceived to win votes largely at the expense of Saxton's campaign.[4]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[5] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] | Tilt D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[7] | Lean D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[8] | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Poll source | Date administered | Ted Kulongoski (D) | Ron Saxton (R) | Mary Starrett (C) | Richard Morley (L) | Joe Keating (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KATU/Oregonian[9] | October 31, 2006 | 45% | 38% | 6% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen[10] | October 31, 2006 | 51% | 44% | — | — | — |
| Riley Research[11] | October 25, 2006 | 47% | 36% | 4% | 1% | 1% |
| Riley Research[12] | October 3, 2006 | 37% | 39% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Rasmussen[13] | October 1, 2006 | 47% | 42% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen[14] | September 25, 2006 | 47% | 38% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[15] | September 11, 2006 | 47% | 40% | 5% | 1% | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[15] | August 28, 2006 | 50% | 44% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen[16] | August 22, 2006 | 49% | 35% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen[17] | August 3, 2006 | 45% | 35% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[15] | July 24, 2006 | 49% | 42% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[15] | June 21, 2006 | 48% | 40% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen[18] | May 23, 2006 | 43% | 41% | — | — | — |
| Zogby Interactive Poll[19] | March 22–27, 2006 | 46% | 39% | — | — | — |
| Rasmussen[20] | February 27, 2006 | 47% | 33% | — | — | — |
| 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 | 110,038 | 7.98% | +5.10% | ||
| Turnout | 1,379,475 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
Official campaigns websites
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