Minnesota Gubernatorial Election, 2006
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The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent
Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...
was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic–Farmer–Labor convention endorsed
Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...
on June 10, 2006. The party primaries took place on September 12, 2006, with Hatch defeating DFL challengers
Becky Lourey Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the U.S. Army ...
and Ole Savior and incumbent Pawlenty defeating Sue Jeffers. In the November 7 general election, Pawlenty received a plurality of the votes, defeating Hatch by a margin of 1%. As a result, this election was the closest race of the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle. As of 2022, it is the last time a Republican won a statewide race in Minnesota.


Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary


Candidates


Declared

*
Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...
, 28th
Minnesota Attorney General The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a DFLer. Electi ...
since 1999, former Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce (1983–89), and former State Party Chair of the
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...
(1980–83). Hatch received the strongest support of all candidates in the statewide caucus straw poll, and continued to hold his lead into the party convention, in which he received the endorsement after seven ballots. Hatch's running mate was 18th
Minnesota State Auditor The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer. Election and t ...
(since 1995)
Judi Dutcher Judith H. Dutcher (born November 27, 1962) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the Minnesota State Auditor from 1995 – 2003 as both a Republican and Democrat (DFL). She was the first woman to serve as Minnesota State A ...
. *
Becky Lourey Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the U.S. Army ...
,
State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
from senate district 8 since 1997, former
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from legislative districts 8B (1993–97) and 14B (1991–93), businesswoman, activist, and
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
. Lourey lost the DFL endorsement race to Mike Hatch, but continued to seek the DFL nomination in the primary election. Her running mate was businessman, former
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
(1976–79), and former Minneapolis Planning Commission member (1992–2001)
Tim Baylor Tim O. Baylor (born May 23, 1954 in Washington, D.C.) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League. He played college football at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and was drafted by the Baltimore Col ...
. * Ole Savior, artist and
perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
. At the DFL state convention, Savior was eliminated on the first ballot for the party endorsement, after winning just one vote out of 1,500, but he continued to seek the nomination in the primary. Savior's running mate was Dan Fischer.


Withdrawn

*
Kelly Doran Kelly J. Doran (born November 22, 1957) is a Minnesota businessman. He ran for Governor as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, but ended his bid in March 2006, stating that the campaign was too difficult for his family. Biogr ...
,
real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
. Doran withdrew his candidacy on March 24, 2006. *
Steve Kelley Steve Kelley may refer to: *Steve Kelley (politician) (born 1953), Minnesota politician *Steve Kelley (cartoonist), editorial cartoonist, comic strip creator, comedian, and writer *Steve Kelley, co-host of Canadian reality TV show ''Junk Brothers'' ...
,
State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
from senate district 44 since 1997, former
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from legislative district 44A (1993–97), and attorney. Kelley withdrew his candidacy on June 10, 2006, after failing to defeat Hatch in the endorsement fight, throwing his support behind Hatch's campaign. *
Bud Philbrook In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be speci ...
, former
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from legislative district 48B (1975–77), non-profit executive director, and attorney. Philbrook withdrew his candidacy on October 24, 2005.


Results


Independence primary


Candidates

* Pam Ellison, 2000 congressional candidate, former gubernatorial aide, and consultant. Ellison's running mate was Kari Johnson. *
Peter Hutchinson Peter Hutchinson (born December 17, 1949) is an Politics of the United States, American politician, businessperson, businessman and philanthropy, philanthropy executive from the U.S. state of Minnesota. He ran as the Independence Party of Minnes ...
, former Minnesota Commissioner of Finance (1989–91), former Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools (1993–97), and consultant. Hutchinson won the
Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...
straw poll in March, and was endorsed at the June 24 convention. Hutchinson's running mate was physician and former
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...
member (1997–2005) and chair (2001–03)
Maureen Reed Maureen Reed (born April 10, 1953) is a physician who was the chair of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Director of the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, Medical Director and Vice-President of the not-for-profit health care ...
.


Results


Republican primary


Candidates

* Sue Jeffers,
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
bar owner and noted opponent of
smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor work ...
s and non-public use of
eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. A self-described
Libertarian Republican In American politics, a Libertarian Republican is a politician or Republican Party member who has advocated Libertarian policies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party. Beliefs and size The Republican Party has ...
, Jeffers was also endorsed by the
Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...
(which later withdrew its endorsement, as Minnesota law does not allow fusion candidates) and the Minnesota and National chapters of the
Republican Liberty Caucus The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the li ...
. Though included in neither the statewide caucus straw poll nor the party endorsement process, Jeffers challenged Governor Pawlenty for the Republican nomination in the September primary. Her running mate was Ruth Hendrycks. *
Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...
, incumbent 39th
Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...
since 2003, former
Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives This is a list of majority leaders of the Minnesota House of Representatives Notes on Minnesota political party names *Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party ...
(1999–2003), former
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from legislative district 38B (1993–2003), former
Eagan Eagan may refer to: People * Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress * Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player * Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman * James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri * John J. ...
City Councilor (1989–93), former member of the Eagan Planning Commission, attorney, and businessman. Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican party after winning the first ballot, unopposed. His running mate was incumbent 46th
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a DFLer and ...
(since 2003)
Carol Molnau Carol Molnau (born September 17, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Minnesota, from 2003 to 2011. She formerly served as head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). She is known for he ...
.


Results


Other candidates


Nominated by petition

* Walt E. Brown (
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
; used the ballot designation "Quit Raising Taxes"). Brown's running mate was Wesley C. Nelson. * Leslie Davis (
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
). Davis's running mate was Gregory K. Soderberg. * Ken Pentel (
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
). Pentel's running mate was Danene Provencher.


Former candidates

* Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey ( VWP) – Self-proclaimed
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
. Sharkey's campaign was jeopardized on January 30, 2006, when he was arrested in
Princeton, Minnesota Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West branch. It is 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 m ...
on felony charges stemming from allegations of
stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
and flight, in Indiana. Sharkey's campaign website was taken down. It was discovered that the stalking charge had been dismissed on September 29, 2003, when Sharkey pleaded guilty to two counts of invasion of privacy and was ordered to submit to mental health treatment. At his trial on July 18, 2006, he was found not guilty of the felony escape charge. Nevertheless, Sharkey's arrest and jailing effectively terminated his campaign.


General election

On November 7, 2006, Tim Pawlenty narrowly won the general election, 46.7% to 45.7%, in a four-way race between himself, DFL candidate Mike Hatch, Independence Party candidate
Peter Hutchinson Peter Hutchinson (born December 17, 1949) is an Politics of the United States, American politician, businessperson, businessman and philanthropy, philanthropy executive from the U.S. state of Minnesota. He ran as the Independence Party of Minnes ...
, and Green Party candidate Ken Pentel. After Pawlenty opted out of spending limits, Hatch followed suit. Outspending Hatch by $1 million, Pawlenty's campaign set a new spending record for a Minnesota gubernatorial campaign. The race was also affected by negative advertising by 527 groups, as well as issue-oriented groups opposing liberal causes in the state. A major issue in the campaign that was considered to have hurt the DFL nominees was lieutenant gubernatorial candidate
Judi Dutcher Judith H. Dutcher (born November 27, 1962) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the Minnesota State Auditor from 1995 – 2003 as both a Republican and Democrat (DFL). She was the first woman to serve as Minnesota State A ...
's response to a question about
E-85 E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an Common ethanol fuel mixtures, ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by Volume percent, volume. In the United States, the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hyd ...
. When asked about the impact of the gasoline alternative on the economies of rural Minnesota by then
KSAX-TV KSTP-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Hubbard Broadcasting, which has owned the ...
anchor Corey Poppe, Dutcher was unable to comment, asking Poppe to define E-85. In the subsequent questioning about her response, gubernatorial candidate
Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...
reportedly called a Forum Communications reporter "a Republican whore" and promptly hung up the phone. Hatch claimed he had said "hack", not "whore", but the incident, occurring only three days before the last poll listed in this article, is believed to have swung the race. It put Hatch on the defensive in the campaign's last week. Additionally, Pawlenty made illegal immigration an issue, running ads accusing Hatch of trying to give illegal immigrants college tuition. Hatch responded with an ad saying that illegal immigration laws had not been enforced under Pawlenty's tenure. Pawlenty also ran ads accusing Hatch of being responsible for raising
health care costs Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, a claim Hatch disputed. Pawlenty campaigned on a record of leading the state through hard times, balancing record budget deficits without raising major state tax rates or diminishing the state's "nation-leading" status on most socioeconomic indicators. Pawlenty won by piling up large margins in suburban counties as well as in central and southern Minnesota regions anchored by St. Cloud and
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
. In his victory speech, noting that he would have to deal with a DFL House and Senate, Pawlenty said it was "a time tonight to be humble and time to be grateful." He promised that "the next four years are going to be different than the last four years" and that he would build "a common agenda" with DFLers who swept legislative and constitutional offices. Hatch ran ahead in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and their inner-ring suburbs, and won by large margins around
Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
and the
Iron Range The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...
. In his concession speech, Hatch advocated that legislators get back to "sitting down and getting to know each other in private" to establish common ground for bipartisan legislation, and called for an end to partisan rancor. Had the Hatch/Dutcher ticket been successful, he stated that this would have been one of his administration's first goals.


Predictions


Polling


Two-way


Three-way


Results

200px, County Results for the Independence Party:


See also

*
U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006 United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2006, in 36 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the midterm elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Democrats won op ...
*
List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections {{ElectionsMN Results and election information for past Minnesota governor races. The first election was in 1857 ahead of Minnesota becoming a state. Elections were set for every two years beginning in 1859. In 1886 elections were moved from odd ye ...


Notes


External links

Campaign Websites (Archived)
Kelly Doran for GovernorMike Hatch for Governor

Pam Ellison for Governor

Sue Jeffers for GovernorSteve Kelley for GovernorBecky Lourey for GovernorTim Pawlenty for GovernorJonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey for Governor
Other
Minnesota Governor Candidates Directory
an
E-Debate
from E-Democracy.Org {{US Third Party Election
Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...