Florida gubernatorial election, 2006

Florida gubernatorial election, 2006
Florida
November 7, 2006

 
Candidate Charlie Crist Jim Davis
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Jeff Kottkamp Daryl Jones
Popular vote 2,519,845 2,178,289
Percentage 52.20% 45.10%

Election results by county

Governor before election

Jeb Bush
Republican

Elected Governor

Charlie Crist
Republican

The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for re-election. Then Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General, won the election. The election was notable in that for the first time, the state elected a Republican governor in three consecutive elections.

Turnout for the 2006 election was down 8.5% from 2002 and down 2.7% from 1998.[1] With Republicans holding the seat, the state avoided the wave in which Democrats netted a gain of six governorships across the nation.[2]

Democratic primary

Campaign

Jim Davis won the Democratic primary on September 5. Davis was the Congressman from Florida's 11th congressional district and served in the Florida House of Representatives, where he also served as the Majority Leader. On September 13, Davis selected former State Senator and 2002 gubernatorial candidate Daryl Jones of Miami as his running mate.

The Democratic primary turned heated as it approached primary day. Rod Smith attacked Jim Davis for a 1990 legislative vote denying restitution for two black men wrongfully imprisoned for murder.[3] David countered that Smith was a "pawn" of the sugar industry, and that "big business" and special interests were funding many of Smith's attack ads.[3]

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Democratic primary results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jim Davis 405,879 47.32%
Democratic Rod Smith 353,161 41.17%
Democratic Carol Castagnero 45,161 5.267%
Democratic Glenn Burkett 32,984 3.85%
Democratic John M. Crotty 20,629 2.40%
Total votes 857,814 100.00%

Republican primary

Charlie Crist, the Republican candidate, won the primary on September 5 with 64% of the vote.[19] Crist was Florida's Attorney General at the time. Previously he was elected State Education Commissioner, and has served in the Florida Senate. He faced Bob Graham for his seat in the United States Senate in 1998. On September 13, 2006, Crist announced that State Representative Jeff Kottkamp of Cape Coral would be his running mate.[20]

The GOP primary did not end up being very competitive. Crist touted experience in statewide offices, and a strong fundraising capability. He portrayed himself as relatively moderate on social issues, which created some misgivings among conservative Republicans in the state, but not nearly enough to sway the vote to Tom Gallagher.[3]

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Republican primary results[35]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charlie Crist 630,816 63.98%
Republican Tom Gallagher 330,165 33.49%
Republican Vernon Palmer 13,547 1.37%
Republican Michael W. St. Jean 11,458 1.16%
Total votes 985,986 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Opinion polling

Source Date Crist (R) Davis (D)
Survey USA November 6, 2006 49% 47%
Strategic Vision November 6, 2006 51% 44%
Orlando Sentinel November 3, 2006 50% 43%
Mason-Dixon November 3, 2006 50% 43%
Strategic Vision November 2, 2006 50% 44%
Zogby/WSJ October 31, 2006 49.9% 45.1%
St. Petersburg Times October 28, 2006 48% 42%
Rasmussen October 26, 2006 52% 41%
Strategic Vision October 25, 2006 51% 42%
Quinnipiac October 23, 2006 46% 44%
Zogby/WSJ October 19, 2006 50.2% 41%
Rasmussen October 18, 2006 46% 41%
Rasmussen October 2, 2006 54% 38%
Strategic Vision September 28, 2006 50% 40%
Zogby/WSJ September 25, 2006 50.1% 36.6%
Rasmussen September 19, 2006 45% 40%
Zogby/WSJ September 11, 2006 50.6% 36.4%
Rasmussen September 5, 2006 45% 41%
Strategic Vision August 30, 2006 49% 41%
Zogby/WSJ August 28, 2006 52.4% 38.5%
Rasmussen August 1, 2006 47% 42%
Quinnipiac July 26, 2006 44% 38%
Strategic Vision July 26, 2006 49% 39%
Mason-Dixon July 24, 2006 48% 32%
Zogby/WSJ July 24, 2006 42.8% 39.0%
Quinnipiac June 29, 2006 41% 39%
Rasmussen June 29, 2006 49% 35%
Strategic Vision June 28, 2006 49% 41%
Zogby/WSJ June 21, 2006 42.5% 39.8%
Strategic Vision May 25, 2006 48% 40%
Quinnipiac May 24, 2006 37% 40%
Rasmussen May 22, 2006 44% 39%
Rasmussen April 21, 2006 44% 33%
Quinnipiac April 19, 2006 37% 39%
Quinnipiac February 22, 2006 40% 36%
Rasmussen January 6, 2006 36% 35%
Rasmussen November 16, 2005 38% 41%
Quinnipiac November 15, 2005 39% 40%

General election results

Charlie Crist won by over 7 points, winning all Republican-leaning areas of Florida, as well as the notable "swing" region along the I-4 corridor (Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg). Davis performed well in the Democrat-leaning south Florida, Gainesville, and Tallahassee areas. Crist under-performed compared to his predecessor Jeb Bush, but still outpaced Davis, despite the low turnout. Reform Party candidate Max Linn received nearly 2% of the vote, but his sizeable haul of over 92,500 votes was still not enough to sway the election.

Also on the ballot the same day was a constitutional amendment to raise the requirement for all future ballot initiatives to a supermajority (60%). Previously, constitutional amendments put on the ballot required only a simple majority (50% +1) to be approved, and led to some controversial amendments being put on the ballot. Support and opposition for the amendment fell loosely along party lines with Democrats generally opposing its passage. Both Crist and Davis publicly opposed the measure,[36] but it was passed anyway by the voters with a 55% margin - a higher margin than either candidate received.

Florida gubernatorial election, 2006[37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Charlie Crist 2,519,845 52.20% -3.81%
Democratic Jim Davis 2,178,289 45.10% +1.94%
Reform Max Linn 92,595 1.90% +1.90%
Independent John Wayne Smith 15,987 0.30%
Independent Richard Paul Dembinsky 11,921 0.20%
Independent Karl C.C. Behm 10,487 0.20%
Write-ins 147 0.00% 0
Majority 341,556 7.10% -5.75%
Turnout 4,829,271
Republican hold Swing

See also

References

  1. Florida Department of State – Division of Elections (Election Results)
  2. Clark, Amy (November 8, 2006). "Democrats Retake Majority Of Governorships". CBS News. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Goodnough, Abby (September 6, 2006). "In Days Before Primary, Hackles Start Rising in Race for Florida Governor". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Bousquet, Steve (March 5, 2005). "Castor won't run for governor". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Garcia, Jason (October 8, 2005). "Maddox Drops Out Of Governor's Race". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  6. Hooper, Ernest (August 29, 2006). "'Slime' attacks outrage Cleland". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  7. Smith, Adam C. (June 2, 2005). "Donors' early take on Jim Davis: If Bob Graham likes him, so do I". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Adam C. (October 19, 2005). "Dueling Endorsements". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  9. Smith, Adam C. (November 28, 2005). "Pete Peterson Backs Davis". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  10. Smith, Adam C. (November 22, 2005). "MacKay Endorses Davis". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sheriff endorses Crist for Governor". Orlando Sentinel. April 10, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Dunkelberger, Lloyd (August 18, 2006). "Governor Primary Splits Chiles Family". The Ledger. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Smith, Adam C. (August 21, 2006). "Papers pick Crist, Smith for primary". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Dunkelberger, Lloyd (July 8, 2006). "Sierra Club is for Davis and Crist". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Smith, Adam C. (October 17, 2005). "Butterworth Boosts Rod Smith". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Smith, Adam C. (August 16, 2005). "Palm Beachers for Smith". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Smith, Adam C. (September 7, 2005). "Broward Democrats Back Smith". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  18. "September 5, 2006 Primary Election, Democratic Primary, Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  19. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2006/by_state/FL_Page_0905.html?SITE=WFTSELN&SECTION=POLITICS
  20. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15508247.htm
  21. Kennedy, John; Garcia, Jason (May 14, 2006). "Toni Jennings makes it clear--no plans to seek another office". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  22. Smith, Adam C. (July 30, 2006). "Joke about Crist's tan, you may get burned". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  23. Bousquet, Steve (June 10, 2006). "Martinez calls Crist 'perfect' for Governor". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  24. Farrington, Brendan (January 31, 2008). "Gov. Crist could benefit from McCain win". USA Today. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Follick, Joe (July 16, 2006). "3 polls put Crist far ahead of Gallagher". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Adam C. (January 30, 2006). "Crist's Pasco Team". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Jeb's frustration simmered in 2000". St. Petersburg Times. July 16, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  28. 1 2 3 Andreassi, George (August 28, 2006). "Treasure Coast Opens Wallet For Gop Candidates". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Smith, Adam C. (March 21, 2006). "Sheriffs For Crist". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  30. 1 2 "Gallagher: Crist can have the newspaper endorsements". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. August 14, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gallagher taps heavyweights". St. Petersburg Times. September 18, 2005. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  32. Silva, Cristina (July 14, 2010). "Crist stands firm on gun rights". PolitiFact. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  33. 1 2 3 "Six-member team to lead Gallagher's campaign". St. Petersburg Times. June 14, 2005. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  34. Smith, Adam (August 14, 2006). "Dobson Endorses Gallagher". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  35. "September 5, 2006 Primary Election, Republican Primary, Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  36. Solidarity
  37. "November 7, 2006 General Election, Governor and Lieutenant Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.