The 2006 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 and included the races for the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ed Rendell successfully ran for re-election. Pennsylvania's first female lieutenant governor, Catherine Baker Knoll, was also running for re-election.
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 County results Rendell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Swann: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 2022, this is the most recent gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate has carried the following counties- Clearfield, Columbia, Elk, Mercer, Pike, Susquehanna, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wyoming. This is the last time any statewide race in Pennsylvania resulted in a candidate getting over 60% of the vote.
Background
Rendell and Knoll had the advantage of incumbency, important in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Rendell's approval rating as of May 2006 was 62%.[1]
In the 2000 Presidential election, then Vice President Al Gore won the state 50.6%-46.4% over then Texas Governor George W. Bush. In 2004, Senator John Kerry carried the state 50.9%-48.4% over incumbent President Bush.
Although the state had voted Democratic in eight of the past 12 presidential elections, its Congressional delegation had been majority Republican for years. The counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny are the Democratic strongholds (Philadelphia: 75% Democrat, Allegheny: 60% Democrat), while the central part of the state is where the Republican Party fares best. The 2005 statewide party registration had Democrats out-numbering Republicans in the state with 3,841,429 to 3,292,656, with 939,252 registered independent voters.[2]
Democratic primary
Michael Morrill, the Green Party's nominee for governor in 2002, considered challenging Rendell on a progressive liberal platform. On February 13, 2006, Morrill however stated that he would not run, citing the toll his 2002 race took on his family.[3][4] Rendell thus ran unopposed.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed Rendell (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
Republican primary
Lynn Swann, Jeff Piccola, Jim Panyard and Bill Scranton III all announced their intention to run in the Republican primary for governor in 2006. Scranton, who served two terms as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, is the son of popular former Governor William Scranton, and a member of the wealthy and politically influential Scranton family, was the early front-runner. However, a series of blunders by his campaign,[5] and a lack of momentum from the Piccola and Panyard campaigns moved Swann into presumptive nominee status.[6] The state Republican party then endorsed Swann, leading the three other candidates to drop out ahead of the March deadline to file for the primary.
Candidates
Declared
- Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers Hall-of Fame wide receiver and chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Withdrew
- Jeff Piccola, Majority Whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate
- William Scranton III, former lieutenant governor and the 1986 nominee
- Jim Panyard, former president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturer's Association
Declined
- Jane Earll, State Senator and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2002[7]
- Pat Toomey, Former US Representative and candidate for US Senate in 2004[7]
- Mark Schweiker, Former Governor[7]
- Melissa Hart, US Representative[7]
- Rick Santorum, US Senator[7]
- Bruce Castor, District Attorney of Montgomery County and candidate for Attorney General in 2004[7]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lynn Swann | 583,658 | 100.00% | ||
General Election
Candidates
Four candidates were campaigning for governor,[8] but only two went on to appear on the ballot in November. Rendell and Swann both were unopposed for their respective major party nominations. Constitution candidate Hagan Smith and Independent candidate Russ Diamond were unable to secure the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot. On August 11, Green Party candidate Marakay Rogers withdrew her nominating papers, following a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats, who alleged more than 69,000 signatures on the petitions were fake names, unregistered voters or illegible.[9] The challenge followed Republican Senator Rick Santorum's drive to collect signatures to put Green candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot.[10]
Rogers continued to campaign, hopeful that a federal appeals court would rule favorably in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's signature requirement for third party candidates.[11]
- Democrat: Ed Rendell[12]—incumbent Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Mayor of Philadelphia.
- Republican: Lynn Swann[13]—a retired Pittsburgh Steelers football Hall of Fame wide receiver, and former chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
- Green Party: Marakay Rogers (Green Party), an attorney, liberal activist, and 2004 Green Party State Attorney General nominee.[14]
- Constitution Party: Hagan Smith (Constitution Party), a building contractor, conservative activist and chair of the Butler County Constitution Party.[15]
- Independent: Russ Diamond[16] (Independent), one of three people declared "people of the year" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, for his work in exposing the clandestine pay raise the General Assembly voted themselves at 2am just before adjournment in July 2005. His running mate would have been Tom Lingenfelter, a former GOP state committeeman, conservative activist, and frequent candidate.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[17] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[18] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[19] | Safe D | November 2, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[20] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Ed Rendell (D) |
Lynn Swann (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple/Inquirer Poll | September 24, 2006 | 60% | 33% |
| Rasmussen | September 22, 2006 | 56% | 36% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 51.6% | 42.1% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 48.4% | 43.5% |
| Rasmussen | August 25, 2006 | 50% | 38% |
| Strategic Vision | August 17, 2006 | 51% | 41% |
| Quinnipiac | August 16, 2006 | 57% | 38% |
| Rasmussen | July 26, 2006 | 50% | 40% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 47.5% | 41.1% |
| Strategic Vision | July 20, 2006 | 49% | 36% |
| Rasmussen | June 26, 2006 | 50% | 36% |
| Quinnipiac | June 22, 2006 | 55% | 31% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 47.7% | 43.4% |
| Strategic Vision | June 15, 2006 | 49% | 38% |
| Rasmussen | May 25, 2006 | 52% | 34% |
| Quinnipiac | May 12, 2006 | 55% | 33% |
| Strategic Vision | May 10, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
| Keystone Poll | May 3, 2006 | 49% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | April 29, 2006 | 41% | 44% |
| IssuesPA/Pew Poll | April 17–26, 2006 | 30% | 29% |
| Muhlenberg | April 17–24, 2006 | 45% | 39% |
| Strategic Vision | April 13, 2006 | 44% | 42% |
| Quinnipiac | April 5, 2006 | 47% | 37% |
| IssuesPA/Pew Poll | March 30, 2006 | 29% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | March 28, 2006 | 44% | 41% |
| Strategic Vision | March 15, 2006 | 44% | 44% |
| Muhlenberg[permanent dead link] | March 4, 2006 | 46% | 43% |
| Rasmussen | February 21, 2006 | 46% | 43% |
| Quinnipiac | February 15, 2006 | 48% | 36% |
| Keystone Poll | February 9, 2006 | 45% | 42% |
| Strategic Vision | January 25, 2006 | 44% | 46% |
| Rasmussen | January 19, 2006 | 43% | 45% |
| Strategic Vision | December 21, 2005 | 45% | 41% |
| Quinnipiac | December 13, 2005 | 48% | 35% |
| Strategic Vision | November 16, 2005 | 45% | 42% |
| Rasmussen | November 7, 2005 | 50% | 36% |
| Strategic Vision | October 19, 2005 | 46% | 41% |
| Keystone Poll | September 2005 | 53% | 33% |
| Strategic Vision | September 12, 2005 | 48% | 43% |
| Strategic Vision | August 2, 2005 | 47% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | July 20, 2005 | 47% | 41% |
| Keystone Poll | June 2005 | 42% | 32% |
| Keystone Poll | March 2005 | 59% | 29% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ed Rendell (incumbent) | 2,470,517 | 60.33 | ||
| Republican | Lynn Swann | 1,622,135 | 39.61 | ||
| Write-in | 2,670 | 0.06 | |||
| Total votes | 4,095,322 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 50.05 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Analysis
Challenging Rendell was former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer, Lynn Swann (R). His running mate was businessman Jim Matthews, Montgomery County Commissioner and the brother of MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
In July 2005, a Zogby Poll showed Rendell with only a 47% to 41% lead over Lynn Swann. Some speculated that controversy over Act 72, proposed Medicaid cuts, and possibly even a legislative pay increase that was signed into law had reduced the Governor's popularity.[citation needed] Also, when compared to other polls, the six percent lead was an outlier[citation needed]. Rendell has led in other recent polls by significantly higher margins.
Following that poll, Rendell's supporters pointed out that he has raised more money than his opponents[citation needed], which they felt would help him spread his message[citation needed]. They also pointed out that no Pennsylvania governor had lost re-election since the 1950s, [until the PA Constitutional Convention of 1968, Pennsylvania governors were limited to one consecutive term—therefore a correct statement would be "no PA governor has lost a bid for re-election since 1970"] and that, as a sitting governor, Rendell had all of the traditional advantages of an incumbent.[24][25]
Swann hoped to perform strongly in the conservative "T" section of the state (the central and northern regions) and in his native western Pennsylvania area[citation needed]. On 7 February 2006 Swann served as master of ceremonies for the Pittsburgh Steelers's Super Bowl XL victory parade before 250,000 people.[26] Swann canvassed for votes among tailgating voters in Philadelphia before the Steelers game against the Eagles.[23] Polls in early February showed Swann and Rendell in a statistical tie.[27]
However, Swann's momentum did not survive an effective barrage of advertising from Rendell in early spring and had trouble keeping up with Rendell's effective fundraising.[28] Swann's focus on "reforming" Harrisburg never caught traction, possibly as a result of his vocal support for Chip Brightbill and Robert Jubelirer, two legislative leaders who were defeated in the May 2006 primary election.[29]
See also
References
- ^ Survey USA
- ^ 2005 Municipal Election
- ^ "Morrill Majority". Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- ^ Morrill release Archived 2006-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes".
- ^ "Lynn Swann Goes Deep".
- ^ a b c d e f "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
- ^ Politics1: Pennsylvania
- ^ "Green Party candidates give up". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ^ Green Party candidate withdraws[permanent dead link]
- ^ Minor parties sue Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ed Rendell's Campaign Website
- ^ Lynn Swann's Campaign Website
- ^ Green Party
- ^ Hagan For Governor site Archived 2006-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Russ Diamond's Campaign Website". Archived from the original on 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-18.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-84.
- ^ a b Ritter, Kara (August 2006). "Ex-Steeler looks to sway support of Eagles' fans". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Madonna analysis Archived 2005-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Franklin & Marshall College (Terry Madonna) Center for Politics & Public Affairs Archived 2005-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A quarter-million thanks Archived 2012-09-06 at archive.today Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ Rendell, Swann in dead heat Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ Barnes, Tom; Roddy, Dennis B. (November 8, 2006). "Rendell cruises to 2nd term as governor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Deparle, Jason (May 18, 2006). "G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
External links
- Campaign websites (Archived)
Sources
- Trostle, Sharon, ed. (2007). The Pennsylvania Manual. Vol. 118. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 978-0-8182-0318-3.