2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

The 2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Brad Henry won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican U.S. Representative Ernest Istook. Henry took 66.5% of the vote to Istook's 33.5% and swept all but three counties in the state.[1]

2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election

November 7, 2006
 
Nominee Brad Henry Ernest Istook
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 616,135 310,327
Percentage 66.5% 33.5%

County results
Henry:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Istook:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Brad Henry
Democratic

Elected Governor

Brad Henry
Democratic

As of 2022, this remains the last time that a Democrat has been elected Governor of Oklahoma, or, along with the concurrent elections, won any statewide office. The GOP would make enormous gains at the state level just four years later, flipping every single statewide executive office from the Democrats, and gaining unified control of state government for the first time in history.

Background

Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of Oklahoma's history, the Oklahoma Republican Party had recently gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and held five of the state's six Congressional seats.[2] Henry's opponent, Republican Ernest Istook, was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.

As in many Southern states, Oklahoma has favored conservative Democrats to the more liberal members of the party. In his first term, Henry had supported some tax cuts and took centrist positions on many political hot button issues.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brad Henry (incumbent) 226,957 85.82
Democratic Andrew W. Marr, Jr. 37,510 14.18
Total votes 264,467 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Istook's strongest opponent in the primary was Bob Sullivan, who positioned himself as the only "non-career politician" in the race.[4] He ran ads featuring Gailard Sartain that attacked his opponents' "career politician" background. The Sartain ads were seen as over the top and may have hurt his chances. Sullivan said education was a top priority and had led an effort to place an initiative petition on the November 2006 ballot that would have required 65 percent of money earmarked for education be spent in the classroom.[5]

Results

Results by county
Map legend
  •   Istook—70–80%
  •   Istook—60–70%
  •   Istook—50–60%
  •   Istook—40–50%
  •   Istook—30–40%
  •   Istook/Sullivan tie—30–40%
  •   Sullivan—30–40%
  •   Sullivan—40–50%
Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ernest Istook 99,650 54.71
Republican Bob Sullivan 56,347 30.94
Republican James A. Williamson 17,769 9.76
Republican Jim Evanoff 8,370 4.60
Total votes 182,136 100.00

General election

The incumbent Democratic Governor Brad Henry won the election with more than 66 percent of the vote, beating Republican U.S. Representative Ernest Istook.[1]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[6] Solid D November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[7] Safe D November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[8] Safe D November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics[9] Safe D November 6, 2006

Polling

Source Date Brad
Henry (D)
Ernest
Istook (R)
Survey USA November 4, 2006 65% 29%
Rasmussen September 29, 2006 59% 34%
Survey USA September 26, 2006 64% 33%
Rasmussen September 6, 2006 54% 33%
Survey USA August 28, 2006 60% 34%
Sooner Poll July 17, 2006 57% 29%
Rasmussen May 7, 2006 50% 39%

Results

2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Brad Henry (incumbent) 616,135[1] 66.5 +23.2
Republican Ernest Istook 310,327[1] 33.5 –9.1
Total votes 926,462 100.0 n/a
Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. 2006 election results for governor (accessed May 28, 2010).
  2. Gaddie, Ronald Keith, "Oklahoma Republican Party Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 28, 2010).
  3. "Unavailable". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  4. Robert J. Sullivan, Jr.
  5. Allen, Cindy, "Governor, his challengers debate about leadership role," Enid News & Eagle, June 8, 2006 (accessed May 28, 2010).
  6. "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.
  7. "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  8. "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  9. "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
Official campaign websites (Archived)
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