Iowa gubernatorial election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The Iowa gubernatorial election of 2006 took place November 7, 2006. The incumbent governor, Tom Vilsack
, a Democrat, had served two terms and decided not to seek a third term. In the election, Culver defeated Nussle to win the governorship, by a margin of 54.4 percent to 44.1 percent. Culver's upcoming four-year term marks the third consecutive term that Democrats have controlled the office.
nominee, Iowa Secretary of State
Chet Culver
, selected Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Patty Judge
as his running mate. Judge had previously run for the Democratic nomination for Governor before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor. The Republican
nominee, U.S. Congressman Jim Nussle
, selected Sioux City
businessman Bob Vander Plaats
as his running mate. Plaats, like Judge, had previously run for his party's nomination before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor.
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
, a Democrat, had served two terms and decided not to seek a third term. In the election, Culver defeated Nussle to win the governorship, by a margin of 54.4 percent to 44.1 percent. Culver's upcoming four-year term marks the third consecutive term that Democrats have controlled the office.
Candidates
- Chet CulverChet CulverChester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
, Iowa Secretary of StateIowa Secretary of StateThe Iowa Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Iowa and is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and Voter Registration, Business Services, Administrative Services, and Communications and Publications...
, son of former United States SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John CulverJohn CulverJohn Chester Culver is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Iowa in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.... - Mike BlouinMike BlouinMichael Thomas Blouin , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's 2nd congressional district...
, former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, former Congressman - Ed FallonEd FallonEd Fallon is an American politician from the U.S. state of Iowa. A Democrat, he was a candidate for Governor of Iowa and U.S. Congress and served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly from 1993 to 2006.-Early life:The son of a member of the U.S...
, Iowa State RepresentativeIowa House of RepresentativesThe Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency... - Sal Mohamed, 2004 Democratic candidate for Congress
Results
Results
General election
The DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee, Iowa Secretary of State
Iowa Secretary of State
The Iowa Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Iowa and is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and Voter Registration, Business Services, Administrative Services, and Communications and Publications...
Chet Culver
Chet Culver
Chester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
, selected Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
The Iowa Secretary of Agriculture is an elected position in the United States state of Iowa. The current secretary is Republican Bill Northey.The Secretary of Agriculture heads the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, which is responsible for managing land and helping farmers in the...
Patty Judge
Patty Judge
Patty Jean Judge was the 46th Lieutenant Governor and previously, the Secretary of Agriculture for the U.S. State of Iowa. She was elected to the office in 2006 with Chet Culver as Governor, and unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2010.-Early life, education and career:Secretary Judge graduated...
as his running mate. Judge had previously run for the Democratic nomination for Governor before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor. The Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, U.S. Congressman Jim Nussle
Jim Nussle
James Allen "Jim" Nussle is an American politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2007...
, selected Sioux City
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
businessman Bob Vander Plaats
Bob Vander Plaats
Robert L. "Bob" Vander Plaats is a three-time candidate for Iowa’s governorship and former Republican nominee for lieutenant governor...
as his running mate. Plaats, like Judge, had previously run for his party's nomination before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor.
Polling
| Source | Date | Culver (D) | Nussle (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Register | November 3, 2006 | 52% | 43% |
| Rasmussen | October 27, 2006 | 49% | 45% |
| Research 2000 | October 17, 2006 | 49% | 44% |
| Des Moines Register | October 14, 2006 | 46% | 39% |
| Rasmussen | October 5, 2006 | 42% | 42% |
| Des Moines Register | September 17, 2006 | 44% | 44% |
| Research 2000 | September 14, 2006 | 48% | 43% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 43.2% | 45.6% |
| Rasmussen | September 1, 2006 | 42% | 40% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 47.7% | 44.8% |
| Rasmussen | August 3, 2006 | 41% | 38% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 44.8% | 47.1% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 45.7% | 47.0% |
| Research 2000 | May 22–24, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | May 2, 2006 | 46% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | April 5, 2006 | 40% | 38% |
| Rasmussen | February 15, 2006 | 41% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | January 12, 2006 | 40% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | November 28, 2005 | 41% | 38% |
Results
See also
- U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006
- State of IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
- Governors of Iowa
Candidates
- Culver's Campaign Website
- Nussle's Campaign Website (Inactive)
- Barth's Campaign Website
- Litten's Campaign Website
- Blouin for Governor
- Fallon's Campaign Website
- Mohamed's Campaign Website
- Plaats' Campaign Website