The Iowa gubernatorial election of 2006 took place November 7, 2006. The incumbent governor, Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, had served two terms and decided not to seek a third term.
A primary election was held on June 6, 2006, to determine who would represent the Democratic and Republican parties in the November 7 general election. Secretary of State Chet Culver (D) and United States Representative Jim Nussle (R) received their party's respective nominations.
In the election, Culver defeated Nussle to win the governorship, by a margin of 54.4 percent to 44.1 percent [1]. Culver's upcoming four-year term marks the third consecutive term that Democrats have controlled the office.
Candidates
Democratic Party
- Chet Culver - Secretary of State, former teacher & son of former United States Senator John Culver
- Culver's running mate was Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge.
Defeated in Primary
- Mike Blouin - former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development and former Congressman, state senator, and state representative
- Blouin's running mate was physician and insurance executive Dr. Andrea McGuire.
- Ed Fallon - seven-term state representative from Des Moines, former director of 1000 Friends of Iowa, and a progressive activist
- Sal Mohamed - chemical engineer from Sioux City & 2004 Congressional candidate
Others
- Gregg Connell - mayor of Shenandoah; also announced his candidacy, but he suspended his campaign on November 9, 2005, after he was involved in a road traffic accident that killed another driver [1]. On November 18, 2005, he announced that he would drop out of the race [2].
- Patty Judge - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture; withdrew from the race on February 15, 2006, instead choosing to be Culver's running mate
- Vernon Weems - Waterloo area lawyer; failed to file for primary by March 17 deadline
- Mark Yackle - mayor; failed to file for the primary by March 17 deadline.
Republican Party
- Jim Nussle - Congressman and former Delaware County attorney
- Nussle's running mate was businessman Bob Vander Plaats.
Others
- Bob Vander Plaats - Sioux City businessman and 2002 candidate for the nomination; announced on February 22, 2006, that he was withdrawing from the race to run as Nussle's lieutenant governor [3]
Green Party
- Wendy Barth - Peace Activist and Software Engineer from Cedar Rapids
Libertarian Party
- Kevin Litten - Pharmacist from Cedar Rapids
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chet Culver | 565,657 | 54.0 | +1.7 | |
| Republican | Jim Nussle | 466,757 | 44.6 | +0.1 | |
| Green | Wendy Barth | 7,722 | 0.7 | −0.7 | |
| Libertarian | Kevin Litten | 5,621 | 0.5 | −0.8 | |
| Socialist Workers | Mary Martin | 1,957 | 0.2 | n/a | |
| Majority | 98,900 | 9.4 | |||
| Turnout | 1,047,714 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Opinion Polling
| Source | Date | Culver (D) | Nussle (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Register | November 3, 2006 | 52% | 43% |
| Rasmussen | October 27, 2006 | 49% | 45% |
| Research 2000 | October 17, 2006 | 49% | 44% |
| Des Moines Register | October 14, 2006 | 46% | 39% |
| Rasmussen | October 5, 2006 | 42% | 42% |
| Des Moines Register | September 17, 2006 | 44% | 44% |
| Research 2000 | September 14, 2006 | 48% | 43% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 43.2% | 45.6% |
| Rasmussen | September 1, 2006 | 42% | 40% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 47.7% | 44.8% |
| Rasmussen | August 3, 2006 | 41% | 38% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 44.8% | 47.1% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 45.7% | 47.0% |
| Research 2000 | May 22-24, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | May 2, 2006 | 46% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | April 5, 2006 | 40% | 38% |
| Rasmussen | February 15, 2006 | 41% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | January 12, 2006 | 40% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | November 28, 2005 | 41% | 38% |
Internal
References
- ^ Beaumont, Thomas (November 8, 2006). "Culver sails into victory". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
External links
Candidates
- Culver's Campaign Website
- Nussle's Campaign Website
- Barth's Campaign Website
- Litten's Campaign Website