The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won reelection for his first full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.
Under the California Constitution, the Governor serves a four-year term, with a maximum limit of two consecutive terms. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected during the 2003 California recall and served out the remainder of Gray Davis's term; he is eligible to serve until 2011.
Primary Elections (June 6, 2006)
Bar graph of statewide results Results by county The period for candidate nominations closed on March 24, 2006.
Democrats
- Phil Angelides - California State Treasurer, Ex-State Democratic Chair & Developer
- Barbara Becnel - Executive Director, Neighborhood House of North Richmond and Founder, Save Stanley Tookie Williams campaign
- Joe Brouilette - High School Teacher
- Edie Bukewihge - Writer and Publisher
- Jerald Gerst - Physician
- Vibert Greene - Engineer
- Frank Macaluso - Medical Doctor
- Michael Strimling - Attorney
- Steve Westly - California State Controller & Ex-Internet Executive
The two front-runners for the Democratic nomination were Angelides and California State Controller Steve Westly. A pre-election poll had Westly leading Angelides by six percentage points. The Field Poll conducted on April 17, 2006 showed that both Democratic candidates had low recognition factors amongst the state's electorate, with only 45% having any opinion on Angelides and 40% for Westly. Of registered Democrats surveyed, 59% said they didn't know enough about Angelides to have any opinion about him, with 58% saying the same for Westly. The Los Angeles Times reported that the race for the Democratic nomination was a virtual tie, with Angelides leading Westly by three percentage points (37%-34%), within the 3% margin of error. Unusually, 28% of Democratic voters were undecided, and both candidates tried to earn the undecided vote.
Angelides reported a recent increase in support for his campaign and gained union support as well as support from the "core" liberal constituency. The California Democratic Party endorsed him prior to the primary, despite most polls showing that Westly would fare much better against Schwarzenegger in the general election. However, many registered Democrats believed that Westly had a greater chance of winning against incumbent governor Schwarzenegger and felt that he had a slightly "more positive" image. In the end, Angelides won 47.9% of the vote to Westly's 43.4%. The turnout for the primary, was a record low 33.6%, far below the 38% predicted by the Secretary of State, with the turnout of valid ballots cast on election day at 28%.
Opinion Polls
Results
Republicans
- Jeffrey Burns - General Contractor
- Bill Chambers - Railroad Switchman
- Robert C. Newman II - Psychologist & Farmer
- Arnold Schwarzenegger - Actor, Businessman and Incumbent Governor of California
Republican Schwarzenegger faced token opposition and won overwhelmingly in the primary held on June 6, 2006.
Results
Third Parties
Results
General Election
- Phil Angelides (Democratic) - California State Treasurer, Ex-State Democratic Chair & Developer
- Peter Camejo (Green) - 2002/2003 Green Party gubernatorial candidate, 2004 independent vice presidential candidate (Ralph Nader's running mate)
- Janice Jordan (Peace and Freedom) - 2004 Peace and Freedom Party vice presidential candidate (Leonard Peltier's running mate)
- Edward C. Noonan (American Independent) - Computer Shop Owner
- Art Olivier (Libertarian) - former mayor of Bellflower, 2000 Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate (Harry Browne's running mate)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican) - Incumbent Governor of California, Actor, Businessman
Schwarzenegger's decision to call the 2005 special election, as well as his propositions dealing with teachers' and nurses' unions and other political missteps, brought his approval rating down to 39% April 2006, though he ended up solidly defeating his opponents. During his first two years, he has come under fire from some conservatives for supporting several taxes on Californians and from some liberals for refusing to sign a bill allowing gay marriage and his support for several controversial propositions in 2005. Later, Schwarzenegger's aggressive push for environment-friendly legislation, his support for stem cell research, gay rights, and opposition to sending the National Guard to the border, made him very popular among the voters, securing his reelection by a wide margin.
Opinion Polling
Statewide Results
Results by county
Results showed Schwarzenegger won 52 counties while Angelides won 6 (Schwarzenegger won an absolute majority in 48 counties and a plurality in 4 counties while Angelides won an absolute majority in 2 counties and a plurality in 4 counties). Schwarzenegger won large majorities in California's rural counties and in populous Southern California areas of Orange and San Diego counties. The results were closely contested in Los Angeles County and suburban counties in the Bay Area, but which trended towards Angelides. Angelides won substantially only in Alameda and San Francisco counties.
See also
- United States gubernatorial elections, 2006
- State of California
- Governors of California
References
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-jeffe2jul02,0,1256025,print.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary
- ^ http://primary2006.ss.ca.gov/Returns/gov/00.htm
- ^ http://primary2006.ss.ca.gov/Returns/gov/00.htm#cty
- ^ http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/election_2006/status/unofficial_list_of_candidates_32806.pdf
- ^ http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/survey/S_406MBS.pdf
- ^ http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/RLS2193.pdf
- ^ http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2006/04/angelides_endor.html
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/la-me-poll28may28,0,5948271.story?coll=la-story-footer
- ^ http://primary2006.ss.ca.gov/Returns/status.htm
- ^ http://www.ss.ca.gov/executive/press_releases/2006/06_078.pdf
- ^ http://vote.ss.ca.gov/Returns/gov/00.htm
- ^ http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/state/stateelections/article_1100965.php
- ^ a b "Governor" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. 2006-12-16 . http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2006_general/gov.pdf . Retrieved 2008-07-16 .
- ^ "Registration and Participation" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. 2006-12-18 . http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2006_general/reg.pdf . Retrieved 2008-07-16 .
External links
Democratic candidates
- Phil Angelides
- Barbara Becnel
- Edie Bukewihge
- Michael Strimling
- Steve Westly
Republican candidates
- Bill Chambers
- Robert C. Newman II
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Third-party and Independent candidates
- Peter Camejo
- George Fellows
- Janice Jordan
- Edward Noonan
- Art Olivier
- Aaron Proctor
Other sites with relevant information
- VoteCircle.com Non-partisan resources &
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