2006 Alaska gubernatorial election

2006 Alaska gubernatorial election
	Borough and census area results; Palin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%; Knowles: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
Governor before election; Frank Murkowski; Republican	Elected Governor ; Sarah Palin; Republican

The 2006 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 7, 2006. The former mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin, defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary, and then went on to defeat former governor Tony Knowles in the general election. Palin would later become the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, before resigning as governor in 2009.

Republican primary

Incumbent Frank Murkowski (R), first elected governor in 2002, ran for reelection but was defeated in a landslide in the Republican primary by former Wasilla mayor Sarah Palin on August 22, 2006. Murkowski's approval rating at the time of the election was 19%. Murkowski also faced opposition from former state lawmaker and Fairbanks businessman John Binkley.

2006 Republican primary for Alaska governor^[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

Democratic primary

Former two-term Governor Tony Knowles and state lawmaker Eric Croft competed for the Democratic ticket for governor. Knowles had a substantial lead over Croft, both at the polls and with fund raising.^{[citation needed]}

2006 Democratic primary for Alaska governor^[2]
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

Alaskan Independence Party

Don Wright – bush pilot, 2002 gubernatorial nominee

Green Party

David Massie

Libertarian Party

Billy Toien – 2002 gubernatorial nominee

Independent

Andrew Halcro – former Republican state representative, businessman

General election

Campaign

Republican candidate Sarah Palin, Democratic candidate Tony Knowles, and independent candidate Andrew Halcro faced each other in the general election. Anchorage businessman Andrew Halcro ran as an Independent in the race for governor. Halcro has served in the Alaska State legislature in the past, and is known as a fiscal hawk. Halcro collected about 4,000 signatures to be placed on the general election ballot without party affiliation. Despite Knowles' experience, Palin was able to win.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[3]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[4]	Lean R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[5]	Lean R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[6]	Lean R	November 6, 2006

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sarah Palin (R)	Tony Knowles (D)
Rasmussen	November 3, 2006	45%	44%
Rasmussen	October 9, 2006	47%	40%
Rasmussen	September 8, 2006	52%	38%
Rasmussen	August 3, 2006	51%	38%
Ivan Moore Research	June 7, 2006	39%	43%

Results

2006 Alaska gubernatorial election
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%
	Republican hold		Swing	−7.6%

References

^ "STATE OF ALASKA - 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION AUGUST 22, 2006 OFFICIAL RESULTS". Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
^ "PRIMARY ELECTION August 22, 2006 Primary Election Results". Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

Christiansen, Scott. Grooming the gov: Frank Murkowski seems to be in an endless battle with reporters. That may be just the way he likes it. Anchorage Press. June 22, 2005.
Moore, Jason. Croft takes first step into governor's race^{[permanent dead link]}. KTUU. June 16, 2005.
State of Alaska Division of Elections results

External links

[1] "STATE OF ALASKA - 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION AUGUST 22, 2006 OFFICIAL RESULTS". Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.

[results-2] "PRIMARY ELECTION August 22, 2006 Primary Election Results". Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.

[3] "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.

[4] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[5] "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[6] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

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