The 2006 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican governor
Bill Owens was unable to run due to term limits, and the election was won by Democratic nominee
Bill Ritter.
With his win, Democrats obtained a trifecta in the state for the first time since 1963. As of , this is the last time the Governor's office in Colorado changed partisan control.
Democratic primary
Candidates
*
Bill Ritter, former
District Attorney of Denver
Campaign
In the leadup to the Democratic primary,
Bill Ritter, the former
District Attorney of Denver, emerged as the leading Democratic candidate. Though several other prominent state Democrats, including Denver Mayor
John Hickenlooper
John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. ( ; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, geologist, and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A mem ...
and State House Speaker
Andrew Romanoff, considered running for Governor, both ultimately declined to do so. State Representative Gary Lindstrom, the only other candidate besides Ritter in the race, ended his campaign on February 28, 2006. Ritter's personal opposition to abortion motivated pro-choice leaders in the state party to seek alternatives to him, but none ultimately materialized, and opposition to Ritter softened with his pledge to not alter the state's liberal abortion laws.
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
*
Bob Beauprez, U.S. Congressman from
Colorado's 7th congressional district
Campaign
With popular two-term Governor
Bill Owens barred from seeking re-election, an open race developed for the Republican nomination to succeed him. The race looked like it would be between Congressman
Bob Beauprez, who represented the swingy Denver suburbs in Congress, and former
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...
President
Marc Holtzman. The race between Beauprez and Holtzman was contentious. Beauprez accused Holtzman of ethics violations, including making false allegations that the campaign's email list was stolen,
providing falsified poll results to the ''
Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...
'', and using a separate state campaign committee as a "shadow gubernatorial campaign." Holtzman, meanwhile, accused Beauprez of being part of the "politics of power" that he argued had taken the party away from its conservative values, pointing to Beauprez's support of Referendum C in 2005, which allowed the state to hold onto excess tax revenues rather than refund surpluses.
In the end, the campaign between the two frontrunners fizzled. Beauprez won a landslide victory at the state Republican convention, denying Holtzman a spot on the ballot. Holtzman's efforts to collect signatures to win a spot on the ballot were ultimately in vain, with the
Colorado Supreme Court
The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...
ruling in June that he had failed to submit enough signatures. In response, Holtzman suspended his campaign and endorsed Beauprez, who won the Republican primary unopposed.
Results
Campaign
Predictions
Polling
Results
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
*
Weld (largest city:
Greeley)
*
Sedgwick (Largest city:
Julesburg)
*
Larimer (largest city:
Fort Collins)
*
Grand (Largest city:
Granby)
*
Routt (Largest city:
Steamboat Springs)
*
Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...
(largest municipality:
Glenwood Springs)
*
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
(largest municipality:
Edwards)
*
Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
(largest municipality:
Breckenridge)
*
Jefferson (largest city:
Lakewood)
*
Clear Creek (largest city:
Idaho Springs)
*
Gilpin (largest city:
Central City)
*
Adams (largest city:
Thornton)
*
Arapahoe (largest city:
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
)
*
Chaffee (largest city:
Salida)
*
Gunnison (Largest city:
Gunnison)
*
Lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
(Largest city:
Leadville
Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...
)
*
Pitkin (Largest city:
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
* ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'')
* ''Populus da ...
)
*
Dolores (largest city:
Dove Creek)
*
Ouray (largest city:
Ouray)
*
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
(largest municipality:
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
)
*
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
(largest municipality:
Silverton)
*
Hinsdale (Largest city:
Lake City)
*
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
(Largest city:
Monte Vista)
*
Archuleta (Largest city:
Pagosa Springs)
*
Mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
(Largest city:
Creede)
*
Conejos (largest municipality:
Manassa)
*
Huerfano (largest city:
Walsenburg)
*
Alamosa (largest municipality:
Alamosa)
*
Costilla (largest municipality:
San Luis)
*
Las Animas (largest city:
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
)
*
Saguache (largest city:
Center)
*
Bent (Largest city:
Las Animas)
*
Otero (Largest city:
La Junta)
*
Broomfield
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 2006 United States Senate elections, United States Senate and the 2006 United States ...
*
State of Colorado
Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east ...
*
Governors of Colorado
*
List of Colorado ballot measures
References
External links
Official campaign websites (Archived)
Bill RitterBob BeauprezDawn WinklerDecision 2006, Candidates section, Governor's Race
{{2006 U.S. midterm elections
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...