Texas gubernatorial election, 2006
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In the Texas gubernatorial election of 2006, held on November 7, 2006, Republican incumbent Rick Perry defeated former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell and two high-profile independent candidates.
In the March 7, 2006 primary elections, Chris Bell overcame Bob Gammage and Rashad Jafar while Rick Perry defeated three minor challengers.[1]
Results
The votes were canvassed by the legislature in January 2007.[2] The inauguration for Rick Perry's second full term took place on January 16, 2007.[3]
| Governor of Texas, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Rick Perry Incumbent |
39% | 1,716,792 | |
| Democratic | Chris Bell | 29.8% | 1,310,337 | |
| Libertarian | James Werner | 0.6% | 26,749 | |
| Independent | Richard "Kinky" Friedman | 12.4% | 547,674 | |
| Independent | Carole Keeton Strayhorn | 18.1% | 796,851 | |
| Write-In | James "Patriot" Dillon | 0% | 713 | |
| Total Votes | 4,399,116 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
Incumbent Governor Rick Perry ran for his second re-election, aiming to become Texas' longest-serving governor. Though his path through the primary was clear, he found three high-profile opponents waiting for him in the general election. Carole Keeton Strayhorn was the current Comptroller, a statewide elected office, and a former Mayor of Austin.[4][5] She had run for Comptroller in 2002 as a Republican but now skipped the primary to contest the general election as an Independent.[6] The other independent candidate was Kinky Friedman, a well-known musician and writer who intended to target non-voters and young people with an unconventional campaign.[7] The fourth candidate was Chris Bell, who won the Democratic primary comfortably. Bell, a former congressman who had lost his seat in the 2003 mid-term redistricting, found himself with the lowest name recognition of the four major candidates.[8]
There was one debate, on Friday, October 6, 2006.[9] Immigration policy, particularly relating to the US-Mexico border, was one of the key topics.[10] The candidates also discussed education, crime, and toll highways. Elsewhere on television, an ad war played out between Perry and Strayhorn.[11] Both of these statewide officeholders raised more money than Bell or Friedman.[8] Bell's warchest, in particular, suffered from the crowded race as Strayhorn raised money from Democratic-leaning sources. In June 2006, Strayhorn publicly highlighted her campaign's cash-on-hand advantage: in that month, it had over $8 million, while the Bell campaign had less than $100,000.[8]
Ultimately, none of Perry's three opponents could pull ahead and consolidate the opposition.[4]
Candidates
General election
Chris Bell - Democrat
Rick Perry (incumbent) - Republican
James Werner - Libertarian
Richard "Kinky" Friedman - Independent
- Carole Keeton Strayhorn - Independent
- James "Patriot" Dillon (write-in) - Independent
| Primary election candidates - Click "show" | |
|---|---|
Democratic
Republican
| |
Primaries
Democratic
| 2006 Race for Governor - Democrat Primary[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Chris Bell (D)
|
63.87% | |||
| Bob Gammage (D) | 28.52% | |||
| Rashad Jafer (D) | 7.59% | |||
| Total votes | 508,602 | |||
Republican
| 2006 Race for Governor - Republican Primary[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Rick Perry (R)
|
84.23% | |||
| Larry Kilgore (R) | 7.64% | |||
| Rhett R. Smith (R) | 4.60% | |||
| Star Locke (R) | 3.51% | |||
| Total votes | 655,919 | |||
Polling
General election polling
| Governor of Texas, September 19 - November 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Rick Perry (R) | Chris Bell(D) | Richard "Kinky" Friedman (I) | Carole Keeton Strayhorn (I) | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Zogby Interactive (September 19-25, 2006) | 33% | 22% | 19% | 16% | |||||||||||||||
| Opinion Analysts (September 28-October 2, 2006) | 33% | 14% | 14% | 20% | 603 | ||||||||||||||
| Dallas Morning News (September 26-October 3, 2006) | 38% | 15% | 14% | 18% | 828 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (October 9, 2006) | 34% | 19% | 18% | 21% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Zogby Interactive (October 10-16, 2006) | 38% | 26% | 13% | 13% | 1,104 | ||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (October 21-23, 2006) | 36% | 26% | 16% | 19% | 532 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (October 23, 2006) | 36% | 25% | 12% | 22% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Zogby (October 23-25, 2006) | 38% | 22% | 11% | 21% | 1,003 | ||||||||||||||
| Zogby Interactive (October 23-27, 2006) | 37% | 29% | 14% | 15% | |||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (October 31-November 2, 2006) | 38% | 22% | 17% | 21% | 557 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 36.1% | 22% | 14.8% | 18.6% | |||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Governor of Texas, May 16 - September 18 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Rick Perry (R) | Chris Bell(D) | Richard "Kinky" Friedman (I) | Carole Keeton Strayhorn (I) | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (May 16, 2006) | 38% | 14% | 20% | 19% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (May 19-21, 2006) | 41% | 18% | 16% | 20% | 605 | ||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (June 23-25, 2006) | 35% | 20% | 21% | 19% | 576 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (July 13, 2006) | 40% | 13% | 19% | 20% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (August 3, 2006) | 35% | 18% | 18% | 18% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Cooper & Secrest (July 31-August 6, 2006) | 38% | 18% | 11% | 16% | 1,010 | ||||||||||||||
| Opinion Analysts (August 28-30,2006) | 41% | 13% | 13% | 14% | 600 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (August 31, 2006) | 33% | 18% | 16% | 22% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Zogby Interactive (August 29-September 5, 2006) | 31% | 25% | 22% | 11% | |||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (September 16-18, 2006) | 35% | 23% | 23% | 15% | 536 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 36.7% | 18% | 17.9% | 17.4% | |||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Governor of Texas, February 9 - April 25 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Rick Perry (R) | Chris Bell(D) | Richard "Kinky" Friedman (I) | Carole Keeton Strayhorn (I) | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Blum & Weprin (February 9-15, 2006) | 36% | 19% | 10% | 16% | 1,482 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen (April 4, 2006) | 40% | 17% | 15% | 19% | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| SurveyUSA (April 23-25, 2006) | 39% | 15% | 16% | 25% | 579 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 38.33% | 17% | 13.67% | 20% | 853.67 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary Election Polling
| Governor of Texas, Republican Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Perry | Strayhorn | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||||
| Montgomery & Associates (June 27 - July 1, 2005) | 55% | 29% | +/-3.3 | 905 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
See also
External links
- Texas Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division
- Texas Governor at RealClearPolitics.com
- Rick Perry at PolitiFact
Candidate pages
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Office of the Secretary of State Election History, "Race Summary Report," accessed November 15, 2013
- ↑ 'Texas Legislature Online,' “SCR 6” November 18, 2013
- ↑ 'Office of the Governor Rick Perry,' "Gov. Rick Perry's 2007 Inaugural Address" November 18, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New York Times, "Race Profile: The Texas Governor's Race," November 18, 2013
- ↑ Carole Keeton Strayhorn for Governor, "About Carole," November 18, 2013
- ↑ Austin Business Journal, "Poll: GOP voters back Perry over Strayhorn," November 18, 2013
- ↑ 60 Minutes, "Kinky's Run For Governor Of Texas," November 19, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Austin Chronicle, "She's Her Own Grandma," November 18, 2013
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Texas Governor's Race Debates: A History," November 19, 2013
- ↑ New York Times, "Debate in Texas Race Focuses on Border, Crime and Cigars," November 19, 2013
- ↑ NBC News, "Unusual Texas governor's race accelerates," November 10, 2013
- ↑ KXAN, "Bob Gammage, former officeholder, dies," November 20, 2013
