699,786 589,748 Start date November 7, 2006 | 50.7% 42.8% | |
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Winner Ted Kulongoski | ||
The 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski ran for a second and final term as governor. Kulongoski faced several challengers in his primary, whom he dispatched to win his party's nomination a second time, while Republican nominee Ron Saxton, the former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board and a candidate for Governor in 2002 emerged from a crowded primary. Kulongoski and Saxton were initially going to be challenged in the general election by State Senator Ben Westlund, but Westlund withdrew his candidacy before the general election. There were, however, a number of strong independent challengers, the most notable of whom was Mary Starrett, the Constitution Party nominee. In a hard-fought campaign, Kulongoski won re-election by a surprisingly wide margin, winning his second term as governor.
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Candidates
Candidates
Campaign
As the Democratic and Republican primaries intensified, State Senator Ben Westlund, a registered Republican, announced that he would run for governor as an independent. Though Westlund gathered the requisite signatures to be able to run, he eventually dropped out of the race in August, noting, At the beginning of this campaign, I made a commitment to the people of Oregon, that I was in it to win it, and that I absolutely would not play a spoiler role." Constitution Party nominee Mary Starrett was widely perceived to win votes largely at the expense of Saxton's campaign, which prompted several Republicans to challenge Starrett's ability to appear on the ballot, a challenge that was rejected. Ultimately, Kulongoski was re-elected by a fairly large margin.