2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election

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2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election
← 2002
November 7, 2006
2010 →
 
NomineeTim PawlentyMike HatchPeter Hutchinson
PartyRepublicanDemocratic (DFL)Independence
Running mateCarol MolnauJudi DutcherMaureen Reed
Popular vote1,028,5681,007,460141,735
Percentage46.69%45.73%6.43%
Pawlenty:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Hatch:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes
Governor before election

Tim Pawlenty
Republican

Elected Governor

Tim Pawlenty
Republican

The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic–Farmer–Labor convention endorsed Mike Hatch on June 10, 2006. The party primaries took place on September 12, 2006, with Hatch defeating DFL challengers Becky Lourey 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 0.96%. As a result, this election was the closest race of the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle.

As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican won a statewide race in Minnesota.

Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

Withdrawn

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Democratic–Farmer–Labor gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic (DFL)Mike Hatch 231,643 73.20
Democratic (DFL)Becky Lourey77,43024.47
Democratic (DFL)Ole Savior7,3972.34
Total votes316,470 100.00

Independence primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Independence gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
IndependencePeter Hutchinson 7,725 66.09
IndependencePam Ellison3,96433.91
Total votes11,689 100.00

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Republican gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanTim Pawlenty (incumbent) 147,622 88.87
RepublicanSue Jeffers18,49011.13
Total votes166,112 100.00

Other candidates

[edit]

Nominated by petition

[edit]
  • Walt E. Brown (Independent; used the ballot designation "Quit Raising Taxes"). Brown's running mate was Wesley C. Nelson.
  • Leslie Davis (American). Davis's running mate was Gregory K. Soderberg.
  • Ken Pentel (Green). Pentel's running mate was Danene Provencher.

Former candidates

[edit]
  • Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey (VWP) – Self-proclaimed vampire. Sharkey's campaign was jeopardized on January 30, 2006, when he was arrested in Princeton, Minnesota on felony charges stemming from allegations of stalking and flight, in Indiana.[2] Sharkey's campaign website was taken down. It was discovered that the stalking charge had been dismissed on September 29, 2003,[3] when Sharkey pleaded guilty to two counts of invasion of privacy and was ordered to submit to mental health treatment.[4] 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

[edit]

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, 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's response to a question about E-85. When asked about the impact of the gasoline alternative on the economies of rural Minnesota by then KSAX-TV anchor Corey Poppe, Dutcher was unable to comment, asking Poppe to define E-85.[5] In the subsequent questioning about her response, gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch reportedly called a Forum Communications reporter "a Republican whore" and promptly hung up the phone.[6][7] 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, 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. 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, St. Paul and their inner-ring suburbs, and won by large margins around Duluth and the Iron Range. 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.[8]

Predictions

[edit]
SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report[9]TossupNovember 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]Tilt D (flip)November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[11]TossupNovember 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics[12]TossupNovember 6, 2006

Polling

[edit]

Two-way

[edit]
SourceDateMike
Hatch (DFL)		Tim
Pawlenty (R)		Undecided
University of Minnesota[13]October 28, 200645%39%7%
Mason-Dixon[14]October 27, 200644%43%7%
St. Cloud State University[15]October 27, 200646%36%7%
Rasmussen[16]October 25, 200645%44%2%
Zogby/WSJ[17]October 19, 200645%45%
Rasmussen[16]October 4, 200650%46%2%
Zogby/WSJ[17]September 11, 200642%41%
Gallup[18]September 5, 200644%43%
Zogby/WSJ[17]July 24, 200643%43%
Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[19]July 15, 200641%43%
Rasmussen[20]June 30, 200647%42%
Zogby/WSJ[17]June 21, 200640%45%
Rasmussen[21]May 10, 200649%39%
Rasmussen[22]February 28, 200645%40%
Rasmussen[23]January 29, 200644%47%

Three-way

[edit]
SourceDateMike
Hatch (DFL)		Tim
Pawlenty (R)		Peter
Hutchinson (IP)		Undecided
Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[permanent dead link]November 4, 200645%40%7%7%
Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[24]October 14, 200646%37%7%6%
Survey USA[25]September 28, 200644%45%6%3%
Pioneer Press/MPR Poll[26]September 22, 200639%42%5%11%
The Humphrey Institute[27]September 21, 200644%42%6%5%
Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[permanent dead link]September 16, 200642%42%7%5%
Rasmussen[permanent dead link]September 1, 200639%45%7%
Zogby/WSJ[17]August 28, 200643%41%5–9%
Rasmussen[28]August 7, 200636%46%6%
Survey USA[29]July 24, 200636%50%8%

Debate and forum

[edit]
2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election debate & candidate forum
No.DateHostModeratorLinkRepublicanDFLIndependence
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Tim PawlentyMike HatchPeter Hutchinson
1Oct. 29, 2006KSTP-TV
League of Women Voters Minnesota Education Fund		Tom Hauser[30]PPP
2Nov. 3, 2006Almanac
WCCO (AM)		Eric Eskola
Cathy Wurzer		C-SPANPPP

Results

[edit]
County results for the Independence Party:
Hutchinson
  •      <4%%
  •      4-5%
  •      5-6%
  •      6-7%
  •      7-8%
  •      8%<
Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2006[31]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanTim Pawlenty (incumbent) 1,028,568 46.69
Democratic (DFL)Mike Hatch1,007,46045.73
IndependencePeter Hutchinson141,7356.43
GreenKen Pentel10,8000.49
IndependentWalt E. Brown9,6490.44
AmericanLeslie Davis3,7760.17
Write-in9490.04
Total votes2,202,937 100.00
Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

[edit]

Counties that flipped from Independence to Republican

[edit]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

[edit]

Counties that flipped from Independence to Democratic

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "MN Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "wcco.com - 'Impaler' Claims He Did Nothing Wrong". Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2006.
  3. ^ Scanned copy of Prosecutor's Motion to Dismiss Archived March 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Sharkey v. Indiana, Ind. App. (2006)" (PDF). in.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. ^ "GOP jumps on Dutcher's E85 misstep". November 14, 2006. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  6. ^ http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=27509&freebie_check&CFID=4612252&CFTOKEN=43846502&jsessionid=8830d400afe52687c441[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ http://www.startribune.com/blogs/kersten/?p=37[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Hatch concedes to Pawlenty". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
  9. ^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
  10. ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ^ University of Minnesota
  14. ^ Mason-Dixon
  15. ^ St. Cloud State University
  16. ^ a b Rasmussen
  17. ^ a b c d e Zogby/WSJ
  18. ^ Gallup
  19. ^ Star Tribune Minnesota Poll
  20. ^ Rasmussen
  21. ^ Rasmussen
  22. ^ Rasmussen
  23. ^ Rasmussen
  24. ^ Star Tribune Minnesota Poll
  25. ^ Survey USA
  26. ^ Pioneer Press/MPR Poll
  27. ^ The Humphrey Institute
  28. ^ Rasmussen
  29. ^ Survey USA
  30. ^ C-SPAN
  31. ^ "MN Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
[edit]

Campaign Websites (Archived)

Other

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2006_Minnesota_gubernatorial_election&oldid=1317577712"

    2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election
    November 7, 2006
     
    NomineeTim PawlentyMike HatchPeter Hutchinson
    PartyRepublicanDemocratic (DFL)Independence
    Running mateCarol MolnauJudi DutcherMaureen Reed
    Popular vote1,028,5681,007,460141,735
    Percentage46.69%45.73%6.43%
    Pawlenty:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
    Hatch:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
    Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes
    Governor before election

    Tim Pawlenty
    Republican

    		Elected Governor

    Tim Pawlenty
    Republican

    The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic–Farmer–Labor convention endorsed Mike Hatch on June 10, 2006. The party primaries took place on September 12, 2006, with Hatch defeating DFL challengers Becky Lourey 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 0.96%. As a result, this election was the closest race of the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle.

    As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican won a statewide race in Minnesota.

    Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary

    Candidates

    Declared

    Withdrawn

    • Kelly Doran, real estate developer. Doran withdrew his candidacy on March 24, 2006.
    • Steve Kelley, State Senator from senate district 44 since 1997, former State Representative 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, former State Representative from legislative district 48B (1975–77), non-profit executive director, and attorney. Philbrook withdrew his candidacy on October 24, 2005.

    Results

    Democratic–Farmer–Labor gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
    PartyCandidateVotes%
    Democratic (DFL)Mike Hatch 231,643 73.20
    Democratic (DFL)Becky Lourey77,43024.47
    Democratic (DFL)Ole Savior7,3972.34
    Total votes316,470 100.00

    Independence primary

    Candidates

    Results

    Independence gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
    PartyCandidateVotes%
    IndependencePeter Hutchinson 7,725 66.09
    IndependencePam Ellison3,96433.91
    Total votes11,689 100.00

    Republican primary

    Candidates

    Results

    Republican gubernatorial primary election, 2006[1]
    PartyCandidateVotes%
    RepublicanTim Pawlenty (incumbent) 147,622 88.87
    RepublicanSue Jeffers18,49011.13
    Total votes166,112 100.00

    Other candidates

    Nominated by petition

    • Walt E. Brown (Independent; used the ballot designation "Quit Raising Taxes"). Brown's running mate was Wesley C. Nelson.
    • Leslie Davis (American). Davis's running mate was Gregory K. Soderberg.
    • Ken Pentel (Green). Pentel's running mate was Danene Provencher.

    Former candidates

    • Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey (VWP) – Self-proclaimed vampire. Sharkey's campaign was jeopardized on January 30, 2006, when he was arrested in Princeton, Minnesota on felony charges stemming from allegations of stalking and flight, in Indiana.[2] Sharkey's campaign website was taken down. It was discovered that the stalking charge had been dismissed on September 29, 2003,[3] when Sharkey pleaded guilty to two counts of invasion of privacy and was ordered to submit to mental health treatment.[4] 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, 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's response to a question about E-85. When asked about the impact of the gasoline alternative on the economies of rural Minnesota by then KSAX-TV anchor Corey Poppe, Dutcher was unable to comment, asking Poppe to define E-85.[5] In the subsequent questioning about her response, gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch reportedly called a Forum Communications reporter "a Republican whore" and promptly hung up the phone.[6][7] 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, 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. 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, St. Paul and their inner-ring suburbs, and won by large margins around Duluth and the Iron Range. 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.[8]

    Predictions

    SourceRankingAs of
    The Cook Political Report[9]TossupNovember 6, 2006
    Sabato's Crystal Ball[10]Tilt D (flip)November 6, 2006
    Rothenberg Political Report[11]TossupNovember 2, 2006
    Real Clear Politics[12]TossupNovember 6, 2006

    Polling

    Two-way

    SourceDateMike
    Hatch (DFL)    		Tim
    Pawlenty (R)    		Undecided
    University of Minnesota[13]October 28, 200645%39%7%
    Mason-Dixon[14]October 27, 200644%43%7%
    St. Cloud State University[15]October 27, 200646%36%7%
    Rasmussen[16]October 25, 200645%44%2%
    Zogby/WSJ[17]October 19, 200645%45%
    Rasmussen[16]October 4, 200650%46%2%
    Zogby/WSJ[17]September 11, 200642%41%
    Gallup[18]September 5, 200644%43%
    Zogby/WSJ[17]July 24, 200643%43%
    Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[19]July 15, 200641%43%
    Rasmussen[20]June 30, 200647%42%
    Zogby/WSJ[17]June 21, 200640%45%
    Rasmussen[21]May 10, 200649%39%
    Rasmussen[22]February 28, 200645%40%
    Rasmussen[23]January 29, 200644%47%

    Three-way

    SourceDateMike
    Hatch (DFL)    		Tim
    Pawlenty (R)    		Peter
    Hutchinson (IP)    		Undecided
    Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[permanent dead link]November 4, 200645%40%7%7%
    Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[24]October 14, 200646%37%7%6%
    Survey USA[25]September 28, 200644%45%6%3%
    Pioneer Press/MPR Poll[26]September 22, 200639%42%5%11%
    The Humphrey Institute[27]September 21, 200644%42%6%5%
    Star Tribune Minnesota Poll[permanent dead link]September 16, 200642%42%7%5%
    Rasmussen[permanent dead link]September 1, 200639%45%7%
    Zogby/WSJ[17]August 28, 200643%41%5–9%
    Rasmussen[28]August 7, 200636%46%6%
    Survey USA[29]July 24, 200636%50%8%

    Debate and forum

    2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election debate & candidate forum
    No.DateHostModeratorLinkRepublicanDFLIndependence
    Key:
     P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
    Tim PawlentyMike HatchPeter Hutchinson
    1Oct. 29, 2006KSTP-TV
    League of Women Voters Minnesota Education Fund    		Tom Hauser[30]PPP
    2Nov. 3, 2006Almanac
    WCCO (AM)    		Eric Eskola
    Cathy Wurzer    		C-SPANPPP

    Results

    County results for the Independence Party:
    Hutchinson
    •      <4%%
    •      4-5%
    •      5-6%
    •      6-7%
    •      7-8%
    •      8%<
    Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2006[31]
    PartyCandidateVotes%
    RepublicanTim Pawlenty (incumbent) 1,028,568 46.69
    Democratic (DFL)Mike Hatch1,007,46045.73
    IndependencePeter Hutchinson141,7356.43
    GreenKen Pentel10,8000.49
    IndependentWalt E. Brown9,6490.44
    AmericanLeslie Davis3,7760.17
    Write-in9490.04
    Total votes2,202,937 100.00
    Republican hold

    Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

    Counties that flipped from Independence to Republican

    Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

    Counties that flipped from Independence to Democratic

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ a b c "MN Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
    2. ^ "wcco.com - 'Impaler' Claims He Did Nothing Wrong". Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2006.
    3. ^ Scanned copy of Prosecutor's Motion to Dismiss Archived March 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
    4. ^ "Sharkey v. Indiana, Ind. App. (2006)" (PDF). in.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
    5. ^ "GOP jumps on Dutcher's E85 misstep". November 14, 2006. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
    6. ^ http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=27509&freebie_check&CFID=4612252&CFTOKEN=43846502&jsessionid=8830d400afe52687c441[permanent dead link]
    7. ^ http://www.startribune.com/blogs/kersten/?p=37[permanent dead link]
    8. ^ "Hatch concedes to Pawlenty". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
    9. ^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
    10. ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
    11. ^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
    12. ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
    13. ^ University of Minnesota
    14. ^ Mason-Dixon
    15. ^ St. Cloud State University
    16. ^ a b Rasmussen
    17. ^ a b c d e Zogby/WSJ
    18. ^ Gallup
    19. ^ Star Tribune Minnesota Poll
    20. ^ Rasmussen
    21. ^ Rasmussen
    22. ^ Rasmussen
    23. ^ Rasmussen
    24. ^ Star Tribune Minnesota Poll
    25. ^ Survey USA
    26. ^ Pioneer Press/MPR Poll
    27. ^ The Humphrey Institute
    28. ^ Rasmussen
    29. ^ Survey USA
    30. ^ C-SPAN
    31. ^ "MN Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 6, 2018.

    Campaign Websites (Archived)

    • Kelly Doran for Governor
    • Mike Hatch for Governor
    • Pam Ellison for Governor
    • Peter Hutchinson for Governor
    • Sue Jeffers for Governor
    • Steve Kelley for Governor
    • Becky Lourey for Governor
    • Tim Pawlenty for Governor
    • Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey for Governor

    Other

    • Minnesota Governor Candidates Directory and E-Debate- from E-Democracy.Org
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2006_Minnesota_gubernatorial_election&oldid=1317577712"