Texas gubernatorial election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 to select the next governor of the state of Texas
, who is serving a four year term that began on January 16, 2007. The Republican and Democratic Parties chose their candidates by primaries
and convention
. Primaries were held on March 7, 2006, with the winner of each requiring a majority vote. The Libertarian Party chose their candidate by caucus
es held at various locations around the state and convention
in Houston, Texas. By law, all parties in Texas must hold their political conventions in the month of June, then deliver to the Secretary of State a certified list of their candidates. The Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties held their convention on the weekend of June 9 through June 11, 2006, while the GOP met a week earlier on the weekend of June 2 through June 4.
Perry carried 209 out of 254 counties, while Bell carried 39 and Strayhorn carried 6 counties.
In the event a candidate does not qualify for independent status, they may still run as a write-in candidate. The candidate must pay a $3,750 filing fee and submit 5,000 qualified signatures. However, the filing cannot take place any earlier than July 30, nor later than 5:00 PM on August 29.
became governor in late 2000 when then-Governor George W. Bush
resigned following his election as President of the United States
. He had been elected lieutenant governor in 1998. Perry was subsequently elected Governor in his own right in 2002 and successfully ran for a second full term in 2006.
Perry's overall poll ratings had plummeted since the 2002 election, plagued by budget woes, battles over school financing reform, and a contentious and controversial redistricting battle. His approval rating dropped to 38% during the latter part of the 2005 legislative session. Perry then improved from this position, more recently holding a 44% approval rating, with 51% disapproving, as of a September 2006 poll. Texas election laws do not require a run-off in the event that a majority is not achieved, and so Governor Perry joined only two other Texas governors to achieve the office by a plurality of less than 40%. The Texas Governor Elections of 1853 and 1861 both won with less than 40% of the vote.
Despite weak polling numbers, Perry had the support of the Texas GOP. According to Perry's campaign website, he gained 142 separate endorsements. Perry had endorsements from virtually the entire Texas GOP Congressional delegation (all but two members), every other Republican statewide officeholder (except Strayhorn and judicial officeholders; the latter by law cannot endorse political candidates), 51 of the 62 members of the Texas Republican Party executive committee, and nearly every major Texas pro-business, fiscal conservative, and social conservative organization and PAC
. Perry even managed to gain the endorsement of the Teamsters Union, notwithstanding Texas's strong right to work
laws.
Kinky Friedman
, an independent candidate, gained a good amount of popular support among Texas voters. He claimed that country-music lovers, college students, animal lovers, ranchers, and anyone who didn't vote in the last election were among his supporters.
Friedman briefly enjoyed a high standing in the polls, and surpassed Democrat Chris Bell by Independence Day. As Election Day drew near, his campaign fizzled out as much of his wide support was among young voters. He finished fourth in the election with under 13% of the vote. His website claimed that "he doesn't put much stock in unscientific political polls among "likely" voters, saying, "It's Kinky Friedman versus apathy". Friedman stated during that the campaign that he was going after the 71% who didn't make it to the polls in 2002.
, a former Congressman from Houston, filed an ethics complaint against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
as a lame duck who had been defeated in his party's primary after the controversial mid-decade redistricting in the state. Bell announced his run in July 2005.
Bell's official strategy was to get Democrats to unite behind and vote for a Democrat, predicting (and betting on) a splintering of the Republican vote among Perry, Strayhorn, and Friedman, giving the Democrats the needed plurality to win the election. Running on a platform of ethics reform and education issues, he stayed with the pack of three candidates with better name recognition. After a good debate performance, his poll numbers improved significantly to where he had taken second place in nearly every poll afterward.
, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, was initially pegged as running in a potentially contentious three-way Republican primary battle with bitter rival Governor Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
. Hutchison declined to run for governor in late 2005, instead opting to run for re-election to the Senate. This left Strayhorn and Perry vying for the GOP nomination. Believing her chances to be better running as an independent and appealing directly to voters, rather than those of the Republican Party first, she announced her intent to challenge him in the general election instead. Had she run in the primary, the December 2005 Scripps Howard Texas Poll of match ups had Perry in the lead against Strayhorn by a 55%-24% margin.
Strayhorn was seen as a moderate alternative to Perry, and found support among moderate Republicans and independent voters. Although a few polls had her tied for second going into Election day, she finished with 18.13% of the vote, 12% behind Bell and 21% behind Perry.
candidate. According to Werner's campaign website, he has a Masters degree in Spanish and Latin American literature
from the University of California, a Bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University and is currently working for an Austin-based educational software company.
Werner previously ran for Congress in 2004 as the Libertarian nominee. Contending for the 25th District
, he garnered 26,748 votes or 0.61%.
* denotes polling result winner is within the margin of error
** denotes data was not reported by the pollster
.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, who is serving a four year term that began on January 16, 2007. The Republican and Democratic Parties chose their candidates by primaries
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
and convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
. Primaries were held on March 7, 2006, with the winner of each requiring a majority vote. The Libertarian Party chose their candidate by caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
es held at various locations around the state and convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
in Houston, Texas. By law, all parties in Texas must hold their political conventions in the month of June, then deliver to the Secretary of State a certified list of their candidates. The Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties held their convention on the weekend of June 9 through June 11, 2006, while the GOP met a week earlier on the weekend of June 2 through June 4.
Perry carried 209 out of 254 counties, while Bell carried 39 and Strayhorn carried 6 counties.
Requirements
It is difficult for an independent gubernatorial candidate to gain ballot access in the state of Texas. The election law, summarized briefly, requires the following:- The candidate must obtain signatures from registered voters, in an amount equalling at least one percent of the total votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election. For the 2006 ballot, this would require 45,540 signatures. (This is also the number of signatures required for a third party to gain ballot access, which only the Libertarian Party has done.)
- The signatures must come from registered voters who did not vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries or in any runoff elections for Governor.
- The signatures must come from registered voters who have not signed a petition for any other independent candidate. In other words, a Strayhorn supporter cannot also sign Friedman's petition, nor vice versa. If a supporter signed more than one petition, only the first signature counts.
- The signatures must be obtained within 60 days following the primary election; the window is shortened to 30 days if a runoff election for either party's gubernatorial candidate is required. In 2006, neither party had a runoff election for Governor; therefore, the candidates had the full 60 days – until May 11, 2006.
In the event a candidate does not qualify for independent status, they may still run as a write-in candidate. The candidate must pay a $3,750 filing fee and submit 5,000 qualified signatures. However, the filing cannot take place any earlier than July 30, nor later than 5:00 PM on August 29.
Republican primary
- Rick PerryRick PerryJames Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
552,545 84.23% - Larry KilgoreLarry KilgoreLarry Scott Kilgore is a Christian-Conservative activist and former Republican candidate in the Texas gubernatorial election, 2010.Kilgore was born in Amarillo, the seat of Potter County in the Texas Panhandle....
50,119 7.64% - Rhett Smith 30,225 4.60%
- Star Locke 23,030 3.51%
- Race Total 655,919
Democrat
- Chris BellChris Bell (politician)Robert Christopher "Chris" Bell is a Democratic Party politician. He last served as a one-term congressman in the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 25th congressional district in Houston from 2003 to 2005 before being defeated in the Democratic primary by Justice of the Peace Al...
- Former Congressman, Former HoustonHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
City Councilman and Attorney.
Independents
- Kinky FriedmanKinky FriedmanRichard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
- countryCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer, mystery authorDetective fictionDetective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
, and Jewish cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
. - Carole Keeton StrayhornCarole Keeton StrayhornCarole Keeton Strayhorn is the former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts....
- Texas Comptroller of Public AccountsComptrollerA comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
, former Railroad CommissionerRailroad Commission of TexasThe Railroad Commission of Texas is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining .Established by the Texas Legislature in 1891, it is the state's oldest regulatory...
, former City of AustinAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
Mayor, and former Austin Independent School DistrictAustin Independent School DistrictAustin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. It was established in 1881. Its current superintendent is...
Board of Trustees President, who spent June through December 2005 seeking the Republican nomination. - In addition, four independent candidates and Jerry Larson (the endorsed candidate of the Green Party) did not submit enough signatures to qualify for ballot access, nor did Larson qualify as a write-in candidate.
Perry
Incumbent Rick PerryRick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
became governor in late 2000 when then-Governor George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
resigned following his election as President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. He had been elected lieutenant governor in 1998. Perry was subsequently elected Governor in his own right in 2002 and successfully ran for a second full term in 2006.
Perry's overall poll ratings had plummeted since the 2002 election, plagued by budget woes, battles over school financing reform, and a contentious and controversial redistricting battle. His approval rating dropped to 38% during the latter part of the 2005 legislative session. Perry then improved from this position, more recently holding a 44% approval rating, with 51% disapproving, as of a September 2006 poll. Texas election laws do not require a run-off in the event that a majority is not achieved, and so Governor Perry joined only two other Texas governors to achieve the office by a plurality of less than 40%. The Texas Governor Elections of 1853 and 1861 both won with less than 40% of the vote.
Despite weak polling numbers, Perry had the support of the Texas GOP. According to Perry's campaign website, he gained 142 separate endorsements. Perry had endorsements from virtually the entire Texas GOP Congressional delegation (all but two members), every other Republican statewide officeholder (except Strayhorn and judicial officeholders; the latter by law cannot endorse political candidates), 51 of the 62 members of the Texas Republican Party executive committee, and nearly every major Texas pro-business, fiscal conservative, and social conservative organization and PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
. Perry even managed to gain the endorsement of the Teamsters Union, notwithstanding Texas's strong right to work
Right to work
The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so...
laws.
Friedman
Kinky Friedman
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
, an independent candidate, gained a good amount of popular support among Texas voters. He claimed that country-music lovers, college students, animal lovers, ranchers, and anyone who didn't vote in the last election were among his supporters.
Friedman briefly enjoyed a high standing in the polls, and surpassed Democrat Chris Bell by Independence Day. As Election Day drew near, his campaign fizzled out as much of his wide support was among young voters. He finished fourth in the election with under 13% of the vote. His website claimed that "he doesn't put much stock in unscientific political polls among "likely" voters, saying, "It's Kinky Friedman versus apathy". Friedman stated during that the campaign that he was going after the 71% who didn't make it to the polls in 2002.
Bell
Chris BellChris Bell (politician)
Robert Christopher "Chris" Bell is a Democratic Party politician. He last served as a one-term congressman in the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 25th congressional district in Houston from 2003 to 2005 before being defeated in the Democratic primary by Justice of the Peace Al...
, a former Congressman from Houston, filed an ethics complaint against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
as a lame duck who had been defeated in his party's primary after the controversial mid-decade redistricting in the state. Bell announced his run in July 2005.
Bell's official strategy was to get Democrats to unite behind and vote for a Democrat, predicting (and betting on) a splintering of the Republican vote among Perry, Strayhorn, and Friedman, giving the Democrats the needed plurality to win the election. Running on a platform of ethics reform and education issues, he stayed with the pack of three candidates with better name recognition. After a good debate performance, his poll numbers improved significantly to where he had taken second place in nearly every poll afterward.
Strayhorn
Carole Keeton StrayhornCarole Keeton Strayhorn
Carole Keeton Strayhorn is the former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts....
, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, was initially pegged as running in a potentially contentious three-way Republican primary battle with bitter rival Governor Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
. Hutchison declined to run for governor in late 2005, instead opting to run for re-election to the Senate. This left Strayhorn and Perry vying for the GOP nomination. Believing her chances to be better running as an independent and appealing directly to voters, rather than those of the Republican Party first, she announced her intent to challenge him in the general election instead. Had she run in the primary, the December 2005 Scripps Howard Texas Poll of match ups had Perry in the lead against Strayhorn by a 55%-24% margin.
Strayhorn was seen as a moderate alternative to Perry, and found support among moderate Republicans and independent voters. Although a few polls had her tied for second going into Election day, she finished with 18.13% of the vote, 12% behind Bell and 21% behind Perry.
Werner
James Werner was the Libertarian PartyLibertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
candidate. According to Werner's campaign website, he has a Masters degree in Spanish and Latin American literature
Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
from the University of California, a Bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University and is currently working for an Austin-based educational software company.
Werner previously ran for Congress in 2004 as the Libertarian nominee. Contending for the 25th District
Texas's 25th congressional district
-2006 election:On June 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Texas legislature's 2003 redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act in the case of District 23...
, he garnered 26,748 votes or 0.61%.
Dillon
James "Patriot" Dillon was the only announced write-in candidate, according to information from the Texas Secretary of State's office.Polling
| Source | Date | Bell (D) | Friedman (I) | Perry (R) | Strayhorn (I) | Werner (L) | Margin of Error (+/-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSJ/Zogby | October 31, 2006 | 28.5% | 14.4% | 36.7% | 15% | 2.1% | 2.9% |
| Houston Chronicle/KHOU | October 29, 2006 | 22% | 10.5% | 38% | 21% | 1% | 3.2% |
| Rasmussen | October 27, 2006 | 25% | 12% | 36% | 22% | ** | 4.5% |
| SurveyUSA | October 24, 2006 | 26% | 16% | 36% | 19% | 1% | 4.3% |
| WSJ/Zogby | October 19, 2006 | 26.2% | 13.2% | 37.5% | 13% | 3.9% | 3% |
| Dallas Morning News | October 5, 2006 | 15% | 14% | 38% | 18% | ** | 3.5% |
| WSJ/Zogby | September 25, 2006 | 22.3% | 18.9% | 33% | 15.5% | 1.5% | 2.6% |
| Survey USA | September 19, 2006 | 23% | 23% | 35% | 15% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Rasmussen | September 13, 2006 | 18% | 16% | 33% | 22% | ** | 4.5% |
| WSJ/Zogby | September 5, 2006 | 25.3% | 22.4% | 30.7%* | 11.1% | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| WSJ/Zogby | August 28, 2006 | 23.1% | 22.7% | 34.8% | 9.6% | ** | ** |
| Rasmussen | August 9, 2006 | 18% | 18% | 35% | 18% | ** | 4.5% |
| Rasmussen | July 24, 2006 | 13% | 19% | 40% | 20% | ** | 4.5% |
| WSJ/Zogby | July 24, 2006 | 20.8% | 20.7% | 38.3% | 11% | ** | ** |
| Survey USA | June 26, 2006 | 20% | 21% | 35% | 19% | ** | 4.2% |
| WSJ/Zogby | June 21, 2006 | 19.7% | 17.5% | 37.7% | 14.1% | ** | ** |
| Rasmussen | June 12, 2006 | 14% | 20% | 38% | 19% | ** | 4.5% |
| Survey USA | May 22, 2006 | 18% | 16% | 41% | 20% | ** | 4.1% |
| Survey USA | April 26, 2006 | 15% | 16% | 39% | 25% | ** | 4.2% |
| Rasmussen | April 20, 2006 | 17% | 15% | 40% | 19% | ** | 3% |
| WSJ/Zogby | March 30, 2006 | 20.7% | 16.6% | 36.3% | 19% | ** | ** |
| Dallas Morning News | February 18, 2006 | 19% | 10% | 36% | 16% | ** | 3% |
| Rasmussen | February 14, 2006 | 13% | 9% | 40% | 31% | ** | 4.5% |
| Rasmussen | January 5, 2006 | 14% | 12% | 40% | 21% | ** | 4.5% |
Results
Percent change available only for parties that participated in the 2002 Texas gubernatorial electionTexas gubernatorial election, 2002
The 2002 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002 to select the governor of the state of Texas. The election was won by Rick Perry, candidate of the Republican Party.Incumbent Rick Perry became governor after Gov.George W. Bush became President in 2000. He was elected Lieutenant...
.