Michigan gubernatorial election, 2006
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The 2006 Michigan gubernatorial election was one of the 36 U.S. gubernatorial elections held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic
Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
Jennifer Granholm was re-elected with 56% of the vote over Republican businessman Dick DeVos and three minor party candidates.Land, Terri (Secretary of State)
"Election Results GENERAL ELECTION November 07, 2006 (Governor 4 Year Term (1) Position)"
. ''mi.gov'' (website).


Democratic primary

Granholm had no opposition in the
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
, which was held August 8. She retained incumbent Lieutenant Governor
John D. Cherry John D. Cherry Jr. (born May 5, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 62nd lieutenant governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, Cherry also served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and ...
as her running mate.


Republican primary

DeVos was originally facing two other Republicans; state Representative Jack Hoogendyk of
Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
and state Senator
Nancy Cassis Nancy Cassis (born January 26, 1944) is an American teacher and psychologist. As a Michigan Senator who initially ran against Dick DeVos, she dropped out of the contest before Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial Republican primary. In the Michigan S ...
of Novi, both dropped out by summer 2005. A political unknown,
Louis Boven Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...
, tried to challenge him in the primary, but failed to meet Michigan election requirements to get on the ballot. Boven later ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign. DeVos selected 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 ...
and
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
Ruth Johnson Ruth Johnson (born January 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of Michigan and is a current member of the Michigan Senate for State Senate District 14. She is a former member of the Michigan House of Represe ...
as his running mate on August 14.


Minor parties


Candidates


Libertarian Party

The
Libertarian Party of Michigan The Libertarian Party of Michigan is a Michigan state political party advocating a libertarian ideology and the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party of the United States. The party gained primary ballot access status in 2016 because of the vo ...
held their convention on May 16 at the Comfort Inn in Chelsea. The party nominated
Gregory Creswell The Libertarian Party of Michigan is a Michigan state political party advocating a libertarian ideology and the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party of the United States. The party gained primary ballot access status in 2016 because of the vo ...
, with
Scotty Boman Scott Avery Boman (born April 14, 1962) * Edited by WDIV Staff http://clickondetroit.com (website). is an American Libertarian politician from Michigan. He has consistently earned among the top votes of any third-party candidate in every Michiga ...
as his running mate.


Green Party

The
Green Party of Michigan The Green Party of Michigan is a political party in Michigan. It is the state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). The party has had ballot access in Michigan since November 2000, when their presidential candidate, Ralph Nade ...
had their convention at the Wolverine Dilworth Inn in Boyne City, Michigan. The Green Party's nominee was Douglas Campbell. His running mate was David Skrbina, a philosophy professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Campbell, a registered professional engineer from Ferndale, joined the Green party upon learning of its existence in 2000,Greens, US
"Green Party Speakers Bureau"
''gp.org'' (website).
and was the Wayne-Oakland-Macomb county campaign coordinator for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, 2000.


Constitution Party

The Constitution Party's candidate was Bhagwan Dashairya, a member of the US Taxpayers' Party. The Michigan US Taxpayers' Party is affiliated with the United States Constitution Party, but Michigan election law does not provide a mechanism for changing the name of a political party.U.S. Taxpayers and Constitution Party of Michigan
"Gubernatorial Debate – Part II Bhagwan (Bob) Dashairya Enters Michigan Governor's Race "
. ''ustaxpayersandconstitutionpartymi.com'' (website).
Dashairya was the first Asian Indian to run for Governor of Michigan. Dashairya's running mate was Carl Oehling.


General election

After her first election as governor in
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 ...
, Granholm was widely seen as a rising star in the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. Her popularity dropped after she took office in 2003, largely due to a weak economy and high unemployment. In August 2006, her approval rating was 47 percent. DeVos, a multimillionaire, had developed substantial political contacts with the full participation of his wife, former Michigan Republican Party chair Betsy DeVos, despite which, fully 85% of the DeVos campaign's contributions were from DeVos' inheritance. As the 2006 election approached, the DeVos family was listed among the biggest Republican campaign contributors in Michigan. The DeVos campaign spent $42.5 million, at that time the most spent on a gubernatorial campaign in Michigan history. $35.5 million of that total came from DeVos' personal fortune, and was at that time the most spent personally by a Republican candidate running for governor. The Granholm campaign spent $15.7 million. The combined money spent by both campaigns made this election the most expensive gubernatorial election in Michigan history. As DeVos funded his campaign himself, he was not eligible for public funds. The DeVos and Campbell campaigns each made the state's economy their major issue. DeVos criticized the Single Business Tax, high unemployment, and job outsourcing which occurred during Granholm's first term; Campbell assailed the $12 billion taken from Michigan's taxpayers and appropriated to the military siege of Iraq (which he calls "Duh-bya's Folly") and advocated for a local currency, independent of the U.S. dollar which he and running mate David Skrbina say is in imminent jeopardy of collapse. Granholm countered that her policies saved thousands of jobs. She also attacked DeVos's partisanship, wealth, and tenure at Alticor. One of Granholm's most prominent lines of attack was the accusation that Alticor, under DeVos's tenure, outsourced thousands of jobs to China while cutting 1,400 jobs in Michigan, a charge that the DeVos campaign and numerous media factcheckers denied. DeVos, Campbell and Granholm criticized the
Michigan Civil Rights Initiative The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), or Proposal 2 (Michigan 06–2), was a ballot initiative in the U.S. state of Michigan that passed into Michigan Constitutional law by a 58% to 42% margin on November 7, 2006, according to results o ...
which was exclusively supported by Creswell.Creswell, Gregor
"campaign site"
. "gregcreswell.org" (website).
and passed by a wide margin. On August 25, 2006, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pledged to actively campaign for Granholm and utilize the campaign team which got him re-elected as mayor. The Michigan Democratic Party held their state convention in city of Detroit at Cobo Hall while the Michigan Republican Party held their convention in the City of Novi in
Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...
at the new Rock Financial Showplace. In October 2006, the Creswell campaign spent over $10,000 on radio advertising, which while small, was the most spent on a such advertising by any Michigan gubernatorial campaign outside the Democratic or Republican parties.Land, Terri (Secretary of State
"Gubernatorial Committee Search"
. "mi.gov" (website)
The largest investment was made in advertisements on Detroit AM Radio stations
WJR WJR (760 AM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media, with a news/talk format. Most of WJR's broadcast studios, along with its newsroom and offices, are in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center area. A ...
and WXYT. These commercials specifically targeted Devos and Granholm by referring to them as candidates of "The two old parties," and berating them for supporting state-supported preferences based on race and sex: A clear reference to MCRI.Creswell, Gregor
"Radio Commercial In Use"
. "gregcreswell.lpwm.org" (website)
Campbell spent less than $1,000, as was the case with the Dashairya campaign.


Debates

The DeVos and Granholm campaigns agreed to three televised debates and a single joint appearance. This agreement did not include any provision for participation by third-party candidates. Granholm and DeVos appeared together October 12 at the
Detroit Economic Club The Detroit Economic Club, headquartered at 211 West Fort Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan, was formed in 1934 as a platform for the discussion and debate of business, government and social issues. It hosts speakers from business, academic, ...
in which each candidate delivered their job plans.


WKAR-TV debate

The first debate occurred on October 2 at WKAR-TV in East Lansing. Both candidates spent the hour trading charges and countercharges. '' Detroit News'' pollster Ed Sarpolus indicated that there was no clear winner in the debate, but Bill Rustem, senior vice president of the nonpartisan policy firm Public Sector Consultants in Lansing, favored Granholm. The consensus of pundits Bill Ballenger, George Bullard, Kathy Barks Hoffman and Rick Albin and capital correspondent Tim Skubick, speaking on the October 6 WKAR-television program Off the Record, was that both DeVos and Granholm emerged losers, losing 2 and 4 percentage points' support after the event. No major gaffes or zingers came out in the debate. Some of the positions were made clear on embryonic stem cell research and abortion. No major gaffes came out in the debate, but one minor zinger was made by Granholm about DeVos' investment in Alterra, a chain of nursing homes which sexually abused and neglected its patients.


WOOD-TV debate

The second was October 10 at WOOD-TV in
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
. DeVos was more aggressive than before, declaring that Granholm had lied about him having a controlling stake in Alterra Health Care, an elder-care company that suppressed information about the abuse of residents by its employees. According to SEC filings, DeVos and his investment partners jointly owned 40% of Alterra stock totalling $173 million. The chairman of Alterra's board, while a close associate of DeVos, nevertheless maintains that DeVos had no part of running the company himself. DeVos also asserted that he had convinced President Bush to set a date to meet with the three major Michigan auto companies. Granholm responded that she didn't believe that was true. DeVos admitted after the debate that he misspoke; the President agreed to have a meeting at some point after the election, but did not confirm a date. On October 24, two weeks after this debate was held, a mid-November date was set for the meeting.


WXYZ-TV debate

The third televised debate was October 16 at WXYZ-TV in Southfield. Unlike the previous debates, this one had an invited studio audience of 30 undecided voters, some of whom asked questions to the participating candidates. Like the two previous debates, only two of the five candidates were admitted. Granholm and DeVos sparred on various issues including college tuition, Canadian trash, business taxes, President Bush and negative ads, while Creswell supporters picketed outside. During the opening statements of the third debate, Gov. Granholm attacked DeVos for using pictures of dead children as a campaign tool against her. However, it was later revealed that DeVos was not the person using the pictures, but supporters of him, who were cheering for him outside of the debate studio.


CMN-TV (of Troy) debate

On October 18 CMN-TV in Troy broadcast an additional debate. This debate was not covered by the agreement between the DeVos and Granholm campaigns. It was the only televised debate to which all gubernatorial candidates were invited. It also was only the only televised debate in which the majority of gubernatorial candidates participated. This debate included
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
Gregory Creswell The Libertarian Party of Michigan is a Michigan state political party advocating a libertarian ideology and the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party of the United States. The party gained primary ballot access status in 2016 because of the vo ...
, Green Douglas Campbell, and U.S. Taxpayer Candidate Bhagwan Dashairya ( Dashairya identified himself as a Constitution Party (listed on ballot as U.S. Taxpayers Party) candidate).US Taxpayers & Constitution Party of Michiga
Constitution / US Taxpayers Party Website
. "ustaxpayersandconstitutionpartymi.com" (website)


Predictions


Polling

DeVos, buoyed by the political ads he ran, led in the polls for most of the late spring and early summer. DeVos' lead eroded when Granholm started running ads; meanwhile, Granholm built up a lead as voters found out more about the candidates culminating in the three debates, and as political fortunes soured for Republicans across the country due to a massive backlash against then president
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and fatigue over the continuing War in Iraq.


Results


See also

*
2006 United States gubernatorial elections 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 ...


References


External links


''See Dick and Jen Run'' by Tim Skubick from the University of Michigan PressGranholm for Governor campaign WebsiteDeVos for Governor campaign WebsiteCampbell for Governor campaign WebsiteDashairya for Governor campaign Website
{{2006 United States elections Governor
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 ...
Michigan