CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION, 2006

The '2006 California gubernatorial election' occurred on November 7 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won reelection for his first full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.
Under the California Constitution, the Governor serves a four-year term, with a maximum limit of two consecutive terms. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected during the 2003 California recall and served out the remainder of Gray Davis's term; he is eligible to serve until 2011. [1]
Schwarzenegger's decision to call the 2005 special election, as well as his propositions dealing with teachers' and nurses' unions and other political missteps, brought his approval rating down to 39% April 2006 [2], though he ended up solidly defeating his opponents. During his first two years, he has come under fire from some conservatives for supporting several taxes on Californians and from some liberals for refusing to sign a bill allowing gay marriage. Later, Schwarzenegger's aggressive push for environment-friendly legislation, his support for stem cell research, gay rights, and opposition to sending the National Guard to the border, made him very popular among the voters, securing his reelection by a wide margin.
Governor Schwarzenegger faced token opposition in the primary and won the Republican nomination. The two front-runners for the Democratic nomination were Angelides and California State Controller Steve Westly (see below). Before the election, Angelides reported a significant increase in support after the California Democrat Party endorsed him prior to the primary [3], and gained support from unions and the core liberal constituency, which were factors that led him to victory in the primary, defeating Westly 48% to 44%. The turnout for the primary, however, was a record low 33.6% [4], far below the 38% predicted by the Secretary of State [5], with the turnout of valid ballots cast on election day at 28%.

Contents

Candidates

General Election

Write-in

Primary Election

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarian

Green

Peace & Freedom

American Independent

Primary Election

Primary Results

Democratic Party

Republican Party

General Election Results

By County

Opinion polls

General election

Democratic primary (before June 6, 2006 Primary)

See also

External links

Democratic candidates

Republican candidates

Third-party and Independent candidates

Other sites with relevant information

Candidates

General Election

★ Phil Angelides (Democratic) - California State Treasurer, Ex-State Democratic Chair & Developer

★ Peter Camejo (Green) - 2002/2003 Green Party gubernatorial candidate, 2004 independent vice presidential candidate (Ralph Nader's running mate)

★ Janice Jordan (Peace and Freedom) - 2004 Peace and Freedom Party vice presidential candidate (Leonard Peltier's running mate)

★ Edward Noonan (American Independent) - Computer Shop Owner

★ Art Olivier (Libertarian) - former mayor of Bellflower, 2000 Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate (Harry Browne's running mate)

★ Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican) - Incumbent Governor of California, Actor, Businessman

Write-in

California requires write-in candidates to file a statement of intent with the Secretary of State. These are the candidates who filed statements of intent[6]:

★ Donald "Dr. Don" Etkes (Independent) - Sex therapist

★ Vibert Greene (Independent) - Mechanical engineer

★ James Harris (Independent) - Communist political organizer

★ Robert C. Newman II (Republican) - Psychologist

★ Elisha Shapiro (Independent) - Nihilist

★ DeAlphria Christina Tarver (Independent)

Primary Election

Democrats

★ Phil Angelides - California State Treasurer, Ex-State Democratic Chair & Developer

★ Barbara Becnel - Executive Director, Neighborhood House of North Richmond and Founder, Save Stanley Tookie Williams campaign

★ Joe Brouilette - High School Teacher

★ Edie Bukewihge - Homemaker, Publisher & Frequent Candidate

★ Jerald Gerst - Physician

★ Vibert Greene - Engineer

★ Frank Macaluso - Medical Doctor

★ Michael Strimling - Attorney

★ Steve Westly - California State Controller & Ex-Internet Executive

Republicans

★ Jeffrey Burns - General Contractor

★ Bill Chambers - Railroad Switchman

★ Robert C. Newman II - Psychologist & Farmer

★ Arnold Schwarzenegger - Actor, Businessman and Incumbent Governor of California

Libertarian

★ Art Olivier (Libertarian) - former mayor of Bellflower, 2000 Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate (Harry Browne's running mate)

Green

★ Peter Camejo (Green) - 2002/2003 Green Party gubernatorial candidate, 2004 independent vice presidential candidate (Ralph Nader's running mate)

★ George Fellows (Independent) - California State Budget Analyst

Peace & Freedom

★ Janice Jordan (Peace and Freedom) - 2004 Peace and Freedom Party vice presidential candidate (Leonard Peltier's running mate)

American Independent

★ Edward C. Noonan (American Independent) - Computer Shop Owner

Primary Election

Republican Schwarzenegger faced token opposition and won overwhelmingly in the Primary held on June 6, 2006.
A pre-election poll had Westly leading Angelides by six percentage points [7]. The Field Poll conducted on April 17, 2006 showed that both Democratic candidates had low recognition factors amongst the state's electorate, with only 45% having any opinion on Angelides and 40% for Westly. Of registered Democrats surveyed, 59% said they didn't know enough about Angelides to have any opinion about him, with 58% saying the same for Westly [8].
The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that the race for the Democratic nomination was a virtual tie, with Angelides leading Westly by three percentage points (37%-34%), within the 3% margin of error. Unusually, 28% of Democratic voters were undecided, and both candidates tried to earn the undecided vote.
Angelides reported a recent increase in support for his campaign and gained union support as well as support from the "core" liberal constituency. Many registered Democrats, however, believed that Westly had a greater chance of winning against incumbent governor Schwarzenegger and felt that he had a slightly "more positive" image [9]. In the end, Angelides won 47.9% of the vote to Westly's 43.4% [10].
The period for candidate nominations closed on March 24, 2006 [11].

Primary Results

A bar graph of statewide results in this contest are available at http://primary2006.ss.ca.gov/Returns/gov/00.htm.
Results by county are available at http://primary2006.ss.ca.gov/Returns/gov/00.htm#cty.

Democratic Party

Candidate	# of votes	% of votes
'Phil Angelides'	1,202,851	48.0
Steve Westly	1,081,940	43.2
Barbara Becnel	66,550	2.7
Joe Brouillette	42,075	1.7
Michael Strimling	35,121	1.4
Frank A. Macaluso, Jr.	30,867	1.2
Vibert Greene	25,475	1.0
Jerald Robert Gerst	21,039	0.8

Republican Party

Candidate	# of votes	% of votes
'Arnold Schwarzenegger'	1,724,281	90.0
Robert C. Newman II	68,660	3.6
Bill Chambers	65,487	3.4
Jeffrey R. Burns	57,652	3.0

For other results, see above links.

General Election Results

Final results from the Secretary of State of California:^[12]

Television networks and the Associated Press called the election for Schwarzenegger minutes after the polls closed, confirming Schwarzenegger's lead throughout the general election campaign. Results showed Schwarzenegger won 52 counties while Angelides won 6 (Schwarzenegger won an absolute majority in 48 counties and a plurality in 4 counties while Angelides won an absolute majority in 2 counties and a plurality in 4 counties). Schwarzenegger won large majorities in California's rural counties and in populous Southern California areas of Orange and San Diego counties. The results were closely contested in Los Angeles County and suburban counties in the Bay Area, but which trended towards Angelides. Angelides won substantially only in Alameda and San Francisco counties.^[13]

By County

Results from the Secretary of State of California: ^[14]

County	Schwarzenegger (R)		Angelides (D)		Camejo (G)		Olivier (L)		Jordan (PF)		Noonan (AI)
Alameda	148,322	36.6%	229,217	56.6%	18,236	4.5%	3,784	1.0%	3,569	0.8%	2,231	0.5%
Alpine	295	54.3%	218	40.1%	14	2.6%	8	1.4%	6	1.1%	3	0.5%
Amador	10,755	72.1%	3,354	22.5%	390	2.7%	148	0.9%	100	0.6%	172	1.2%
Butte	45,591	65.9%	18,672	27.0%	2,912	4.2%	856	1.2%	640	0.9%	593	0.8%
Calaveras	12,691	70.5%	4,268	23.7%	490	2.7%	238	1.3%	130	0.7%	199	1.1%
Colusa	3,665	73.8%	1,104	22.3%	94	1.8%	46	0.9%	30	0.6%	30	0.6%
Contra Costa	158,565	52.5%	128,578	42.5%	8,529	2.8%	2,725	0.9%	2,169	0.7%	1,932	0.6%
Del Norte	3,639	54.9%	2,531	38.2%	133	2.1%	121	1.8%	85	1.2%	125	1.8%
El Dorado	49,771	73.4%	14,535	21.5%	1,911	2.8%	752	1.1%	365	0.5%	500	0.7%
Fresno	116,534	66.1%	53,605	30.4%	2,324	1.4%	1,449	0.8%	1,418	0.8%	1,031	0.5%
Glenn	5,775	76.6%	1,421	18.9%	110	1.4%	102	1.3%	70	0.9%	71	0.9%
Humboldt	23,282	48.3%	20,070	41.6%	3,241	6.8%	702	1.4%	572	1.1%	419	0.8%
Imperial	10,363	46.8%	10,024	45.3%	706	3.2%	273	1.2%	569	2.5%	239	1.0%
Inyo	4,180	64.4%	1,892	29.2%	132	2.0%	130	2.0%	66	1.0%	92	1.4%
Kern	108,253	72.1%	35,512	23.7%	1,752	1.1%	1,988	1.4%	1,287	0.8%	1,421	0.9%
Kings	15,683	68.5%	6,344	27.7%	219	0.9%	247	1.1%	244	1.1%	167	0.7%
Lake	10,930	56.3%	7,031	36.2%	615	3.2%	323	1.6%	275	1.4%	255	1.3%
Lassen	5,665	66.1%	2,353	27.5%	158	1.8%	197	2.3%	96	1.1%	111	1.2%
Los Angeles	907,919	46.1%	967,149	49.1%	37,029	1.9%	28,429	1.4%	16,001	0.8%	14,519	0.7%
Madera	21,416	71.2%	7,473	24.9%	353	1.2%	324	1.0%	253	0.8%	285	0.9%
Marin	48,439	45.9%	50,441	47.8%	4,724	4.4%	1,060	1.0%	670	0.6%	408	0.3%
Mariposa	5,074	66.9%	1,985	26.2%	204	2.7%	139	1.8%	73	0.9%	118	1.5%
Mendocino	14,002	45.5%	13,790	44.7%	1,869	6.0%	463	1.5%	401	1.3%	309	1.0%
Merced	26,231	62.6%	14,027	33.5%	543	1.2%	378	0.9%	425	1.0%	355	0.8%
Modoc	2,829	75.2%	723	19.3%	47	1.2%	71	1.9%	57	1.5%	35	0.9%
Mono	2,315	61.9%	1,176	31.5%	100	2.6%	87	2.3%	31	0.8%	35	0.9%
Monterey	46,882	53.4%	35,769	40.7%	2,646	3.1%	928	1.0%	852	0.9%	829	0.9%
Napa	23,187	54.6%	16,504	38.9%	1,559	3.7%	520	1.2%	366	0.8%	352	0.8%
Nevada	28,570	66.1%	11,833	27.4%	1,982	4.6%	461	1.0%	236	0.5%	183	0.4%
Orange	507,413	69.7%	185,388	25.5%	9,646	1.3%	15,328	2.2%	5,419	0.7%	4,825	0.6%
Placer	91,972	74.4%	26,723	21.7%	2,501	2.1%	1,098	0.8%	588	0.4%	770	0.6%
Plumas	6,160	69.6%	2,194	24.8%	232	2.7%	97	1.0%	70	0.7%	107	1.2%
Riverside	251,962	65.5%	115,803	30.1%	4,314	1.2%	6,224	1.7%	3,070	0.7%	3,327	0.8%
Sacramento	218,889	60.5%	123,685	34.2%	11,170	3.1%	2,942	0.8%	2,636	0.7%	2,754	0.7%
San Benito	8,208	57.1%	5,400	37.6%	335	2.4%	159	1.1%	126	0.8%	151	1.0%
San Bernardino	212,200	61.7%	114,388	33.3%	4,387	1.2%	6,455	1.9%	3,539	1.0%	3,278	0.9%
San Diego	509,059	65.5%	234,938	30.3%	13,653	1.8%	9,444	1.2%	5,425	0.6%	4,732	0.6%
San Francisco	72,722	29.8%	153,335	62.8%	13,186	5.4%	2,390	1.0%	1,911	0.7%	913	0.3%
San Joaquin	83,952	60.4%	49,868	35.9%	2,026	1.4%	1,138	0.8%	1,174	0.8%	1,007	0.7%
San Luis Obispo	61,842	63.6%	30,568	31.5%	2,319	2.4%	1,135	1.2%	764	0.7%	660	0.6%
San Mateo	96,478	47.2%	97,092	47.5%	6,822	3.3%	2,048	1.0%	1,335	0.6%	975	0.4%
Santa Barbara	73,677	60.1%	42,880	35.0%	3,149	2.5%	1,365	1.1%	1,054	0.8%	654	0.5%
Santa Clara	225,132	52.2%	185,037	42.9%	10,932	2.6%	5,034	1.2%	2,942	0.6%	2,559	0.5%
Santa Cruz	37,866	42.0%	43,619	48.4%	6,156	6.9%	1,154	1.3%	801	0.8%	587	0.6%
Shasta	43,436	74.0%	12,434	21.2%	808	1.4%	802	1.3%	627	1.0%	655	1.1%
Sierra	1,131	70.6%	353	22.1%	62	3.9%	34	2.1%	9	0.5%	13	0.8%
Siskiyou	10,916	65.7%	4,615	27.8%	383	2.3%	321	1.9%	173	1.0%	222	1.3%
Solano	55,130	53.2%	43,501	42.0%	2,194	2.1%	1,092	1.0%	973	0.9%	835	0.8%
Sonoma	81,608	47.1%	77,392	44.7%	8,647	4.9%	2,360	1.3%	2,099	1.2%	1,404	0.8%
Stanislaus	67,427	65.0%	31,981	30.8%	1,589	1.5%	937	0.9%	974	0.9%	954	0.9%
Sutter	17,393	72.8%	5,487	23.0%	357	1.5%	249	1.0%	209	0.8%	218	0.9%
Tehama	13,442	74.7%	3,666	20.4%	217	1.2%	248	1.4%	191	1.0%	241	1.3%
Trinity	3,819	64.7%	1,614	27.3%	243	4.1%	113	1.9%	85	1.4%	37	0.6%
Tulare	48,607	70.8%	17,571	25.6%	801	1.2%	535	0.7%	458	0.6%	757	1.1%
Tuolumne	14,836	70.2%	5,105	24.2%	569	2.7%	234	1.1%	180	0.8%	216	1.0%
Ventura	134,862	61.1%	75,790	34.3%	3,329	1.5%	3,773	1.8%	1,525	0.6%	1,680	0.7%
Yolo	29,073	53.4%	21,733	40.0%	2,602	4.8%	483	0.8%	391	0.7%	170	0.3%
Yuba	10,122	72.7%	2,973	21.4%	344	2.5%	188	1.3%	130	0.9%	181	1.2%

Opinion polls

General election

Source	Date	Schwarzenegger (R)	Angelides (D)	Camejo (G)	Olivier (L)
Field Poll	November 1, 2006	'49%'	33%
Zogby/WSJ	October 17 2006	'47%'	39.6%
Zogby/WSJ	September 28 2006	'43%'	33.8%	7.9%	4.1%
Field Poll	September 27 2006	'44%'	34%
Rasmussen	September 12 2006	'47%'	39%
Zogby/WSJ	September 11 2006	'40.3%'	34.7%	6.1%	3.5%
Rasmussen	August 31 2006	'48%'	42%
Public Policy Institute of California	August 30 2006	'45%'	32%
Survey USA	August 28 2006	'52%'	38%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28 2006	'45.0%'	40.3%
Rasmussen	August 1 2006	'47%'	41%
Public Policy Institute of California	July 26 2006	'43%'	30%
Field Poll	July 25 2006	'45%'	37%
Zogby/WSJ	July 24 2006	42.3%	'44.0%'
Rasmussen	July 13 2006	44%	'46%'
Survey & Policy Institute	July 6 2006	'44%'	37%
Zogby/WSJ	June 21 2006	44.5%	44.6%
Field Poll	June 2 2006	'46%'	39%
''LA Times'' Poll	May 28 2006	45%	'46%'
Public Policy Institute of California	May 25 2006	38%	38%
Rasmussen	May 23 2006	45%	45%
''LA Times'' Poll	April 29 2006	43%	43%
Rasmussen	April 17 2006	'49%'	36%
Field Poll	April 14 2006	'44%'	40%
Public Policy Institute of California	March 30 2006	'41%'	29%
Rasmussen	March 23 2006	44%	'45%'
Field Poll	March 2 2006	39%	39%
Rasmussen	February 13 2006	40%	'41%'
Rasmussen	January 25 2006	39%	'41%'
Rasmussen	December 16 2005	40%	'44%'
Field Poll	November 3 2005	41%	'47%'
Field Poll	August 29 2005	40%	'43%'
Field Poll	June 13 2005	42%	'46%'
Field Poll	February 25 2005	'52%'	35%

Democratic primary (before June 6, 2006 Primary)

Source	Date	Westly	Angelides
Survey USA	June 5 2006	36%	'44%'
Survey USA	June 2 2006	37%	'41%'
Field Poll	June 2 2006	'35%'	34%
''LA Times'' Poll	May 27 2006	34%	'37%'
Survey USA	May 25 2006	32%	'44%'
Public Policy Institute of California	May 25 2006	32%	'35%'
Survey USA	May 8 2006	31%	'41%'
''LA Times'' Poll	April 29 2006	'33%'	20%
Public Policy Institute of California	April 27 2006	'26%'	20%
Field Poll	April 17 2006	'37%'	26%
Public Policy Institute of California	March 30 2006	'23%'	22%
Field Poll	November 3 2005	26%	'37%'
Field Poll	September 7 2005	22%	'32%'
Field Poll	June 29 2005	28%	'37%'
Field Poll	February 25 2005	11%	'15%'

See also

★ 2007 Governor's Inaugural Committee

★ U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006

★ State of California

★ Governors of California

External links

Democratic candidates

★ Phil Angelides

★ Barbara Becnel

★ Edie Bukewihge

★ Michael Strimling

★ Steve Westly

Republican candidates

★ Bill Chambers

★ Robert C. Newman II

★ Arnold Schwarzenegger

Third-party and Independent candidates

★ Peter Camejo

★ George Fellows

★ Janice Jordan

★ Edward Noonan

★ Art Olivier

★ Aaron Proctor

Other sites with relevant information

★ VoteCircle.com Non-partisan resources & vote sharing network for Californians

★ Information on the elections from California's Secretary of State

★ Video of the debate

★ Election Volunteer - Complete List of 2006 Gubernatorial candidates

★ Official Homepage of the Governor of California