The 2006 Alaska gubernatorial general election took place on November 7, 2006. The former mayor of

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

, defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary, and then went on to defeat former governor Tony Knowles in the general election. Palin would later become the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, before resigning as governor in 2009.

Primaries

Republican primary

Incumbent

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006. In his 2006 re ...

(R), first elected governor in 2002, ran for reelection but was defeated in a landslide in the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary by former Wasilla mayor

on August 22, 2006. Murkowski's approval rating at the time of the election wa
19%
Murkowski also faced opposition from former state lawmaker and

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

businessman

John Binkley John Emerson "Johne" Binkley (born February 4, 1953 in Fairbanks, Alaska) is a riverboat pilot, businessman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. Binkley served for one term apiece in the Alaska House of Representatives and the ...

Democratic primary

Former two-term Governor Tony Knowles and state lawmaker

Eric Croft Eric Chancy Croft (born November 6, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who represented Anchorage's West district on the Anchorage Assembly from 2016 to 2019. From 1997 to 2006, Croft served as a member of the Alaska House of Representa ...

competed for the Democratic ticket for governor. Knowles had a substantial lead over Croft, both at the polls and with fund raising.

Other Parties

Alaskan Independence Party

* Don Wright – bush pilot,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

gubernatorial nominee

Green Party

*David Massie

Libertarian Party

*Billy Toien – 2002 gubernatorial nominee

Independent

Andrew Halcro Andrew Halcro (born September 20, 1964) is an American politician from Anchorage, Alaska. Formerly a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, he ran for Governor of Alaska as an independent candidate in the 2006 election, pla ...

– former Republican state representative, businessman

General election

Campaign

Republican candidate Sarah Palin, Democratic candidate Tony Knowles, and independent candidate Andrew Halcro faced each other in the general election. Anchorage businessman

ran as an Independent in the race for governor. Halcro has served in the Alaska State legislature in the past, and is known as a fiscal hawk. Halcro collected about 4,000 signatures to be placed on the general election ballot without party affiliation. Despite Knowles' experience, Palin was able to win.

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

*Christiansen, Scott
Grooming the gov: Frank Murkowski seems to be in an endless battle with reporters. That may be just the way he likes it.
''Anchorage Press''. June 22, 2005. *Moore, Jason
Croft takes first step into governor's race
KTUU. June 16, 2005.

External links

Office of the Governor of AlaskaSarah Palin for GovernorEric Croft for GovernorEthan Berkowitz for Lt. GovernorTony Knowles for Governor
{{Sarah Palin

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Sarah Palin