2006 Alaska gubernatorial election

(Redirected from Alaska gubernatorial primary elections, 2006)

For related races, see 2006 United States gubernatorial elections.

← 2002

November 7, 2006

2010 →


Nominee	Sarah Palin	Tony Knowles	Andrew Halcro
Party	Republican	Democratic	Independent
Running mate	Sean Parnell	Ethan Berkowitz	Fay Von Gemmingen
Popular vote	114,697	97,238	22,443
Percentage	48.33%	40.97%	9.46%

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

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This article is part of a series
about
Sarah Palin

Governorship (2006–2009)

2008 vice presidential campaign (Main article)

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 became the first governor of the state to be born after Alaskan statehood.

Palin would later become the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, before resigning as governor in 2009.

Republican primary

Candidates

John Binkley, Fairbanks businessman and former State Senator from Bethel
Gerald Heikes
Merica Hlatcu
Frank Murkowski, incumbent Governor since 2003
Sarah Palin, former mayor of Wasilla (1996–2003) and chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (2003–04)

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.

Results

2006 Republican primary for Alaska governor
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

Candidates

Eric Croft, State Representative from Spenard, Anchorage
Tony Knowles, former Governor of Alaska (1995–2003)
Bruce Lemke

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.

Results

2006 Democratic primary for Alaska governor
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

General election

Candidates

Andrew Halcro, president and CEO of Avis Alaska and former State Representative from Anchorage (Independent)
Tony Knowles, former Governor of Alaska (1995–2003) (Democratic)
David Massie (Green)
Sarah Palin, former mayor of Wasilla (1996–2003) and chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (2003–04) (Republican)
Billy Toien, candidate for governor in 2002 (Libertarian)
Don Wright, bush pilot and perennial candidate (Alaska Independence)

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	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report	Lean R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics	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. November 6, 2006. 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.
Rasmussen
Rasmussen
Rasmussen
Rasmussen
Ivan Moore Research

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. KTUU. June 16, 2005.
State of Alaska Division of Elections results

External links

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