2006 Alaska gubernatorial election

2006 Alaska gubernatorial election
	Election results by borough; Palin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; 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, was elected governor.

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's charisma and conservatism was able to win.

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[3]	Lean R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[4]	Lean R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[5]	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%
Field Research Corporation	October 5, 2006	49%	37%
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
	Alaskan 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.
^ "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] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[4] "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

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

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show v t Sarah Palin
9th Governor of Alaska (2006–2009) Mayor of Wasilla (1996–2002) Born (1964-02-11)February 11, 1964
Politics	Early political career Governor of Alaska Political positions
Campaigns	Electoral history 2006 Alaska gubernatorial election 2008 Republican National Convention Vice presidential candidacy McCain–Palin 2008 presidential campaign
Books and media by Sarah Palin	Going Rogue: An American Life America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas Sweet Freedom: A Devotional Sarah Palin's Alaska Amazing America with Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Channel
Book and media coverage	Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down Public image and reception Katie Couric interviews Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare Game Change (book, film) The Undefeated
Parodies	Saturday Night Live parodies
Family	Todd Palin (ex-husband) Bristol Palin (daughter) Levi Johnston (father of grandson) Dakota Meyer (ex-son-in-law)
Related	Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal Gravina Island Bridge Death panel Drill, baby, drill Mama grizzly The Masked Avengers' prank Sarah Palin email hack
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