The 2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic governor

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1992 to 2003. As of 2025, he is the last ...

won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Ernest Istook Ernest James "Ernie" Istook Jr. (born February 11, 1950) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th congressional district. He held his congres ...

. Henry took 66.5% of the vote to Istook's 33.5% and swept all but three counties in the state.2006 election results for governor
(accessed May 28, 2010). , this remains the last time that a Democrat was elected Governor of Oklahoma, or along with the concurrent elections, won any statewide office. Republicans later swept all statewide executive offices on the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

ballot, as they did majorities in both state legislative chambers.

Background

Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

's history, the

Oklahoma Republican Party The Oklahoma Republican Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Along with the Oklahoma Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties in the state. It is currently the ...

had recently gained control of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

and held five of the state's six Congressional seats.Gaddie, Ronald Keith,
Oklahoma Republican Party
,"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
'' (accessed May 28, 2010). Henry's opponent, Republican

, was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, representing

Oklahoma's 5th congressional district Oklahoma's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It borders all of the other congressional districts in the state except the Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, 1st district. It is densely popu ...

. As in many Southern states, Oklahoma has favored conservative Democrats to the more liberal members of the party. In his first term, Henry had supported some tax cuts and took centrist positions on many political hot button issues.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

*Andrew W. Marr, Jr.

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, U.S. congressman * Bob Sullivan, former

Oklahoma Secretary of Energy The Oklahoma Secretary of Energy is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief adv ...

* James A. Williamson, Oklahoma state senator *Jim Evanoff

Campaign

Istook's strongest opponent in the primary was Bob Sullivan, who positioned himself as the only "non-career politician" in the race. Robert J. Sullivan, Jr. He ran ads featuring

Gailard Sartain Gailard Sartain (born September 18, 1946) is a retired American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series ''Hee Haw''. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ern ...

that attacked his opponents' "career politician" background. Th
Sartain ads
were seen as over the top and may have hurt his chances. Sullivan said education was a top priority and had led an effort to place an initiative petition on the November 2006 ballot that would have required 65 percent of money earmarked for education be spent in the classroom.Allen, Cindy,
Governor, his challengers debate about leadership role
"
Enid News & Eagle
', June 8, 2006 (accessed May 28, 2010).

Results

General election

The incumbent Democratic governor

won the election with more than 66 percent of the vote, beating Republican

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Roger Mills (Largest city:

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

) *

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

(Largest city: Weatherford) * Dewey (Largest city:

Seiling Seiling ( ) is a city in Dewey County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 850 at the 2020 census. The town was named in 1899 for Louis Seiling, a local store owner who had acquired a homestead in the Cheyenne-Arapaho land run of April 1 ...

) * Woodward (Largest city: Woodward) *

Alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...

(Largest city:

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

) *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

(Largest city:

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

) *

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. It has also been noted to be a Jewish surname. People with the surname include ...

(Largest city: Shattuck) *

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

(Largest city: Laverne) * Grant (Largest city: Medford) *

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

(Largest city:

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

) *

(Largest city:

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

) * McClain (Largest city:

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

) *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

(Largest city: Fairview) * Kay (Largest city:

Ponca City Ponca City () is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 24,424 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 25,387 at the tim ...

) *

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

(Largest city:

) * Wagoner (Largest city: Coewta) *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(Largest city:

Bartlesville Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Caney ...

) *

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

(Largest city:

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music *Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type * Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US ** Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Ark ...

) *

Stephens Stephens is a surname. It is a patronymic and is recorded in England from 1086. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883), Vice President of the Confederate States *Alison Stephens (1970–2010), British mandoli ...

(Largest city:

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (di ...

) *

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

(Largest city: Lawton) *

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

(Largest city:

) *

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

(Largest city: Guthrie) *

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

(Largest city:

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

) *

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 city: Enid)

References

External links

Official campaign websites (Archived)
Brad Henry 2006 Gubernatorial Campaign Site

Ernest Istook 2006 Gubernatorial Campaign Site

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060624092957/http://www.bobsullivanforgov.com/custom/index.php Bob Sullivan 2006 Gubernatorial Campaign Site
Jim Williamson 2006 Gubernatorial Campaign Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma Gubernatorial Election, 2006

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 ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2006 United States gubernatorial elections November 2006 in the United States 2006 in Oklahoma

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Results

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

External links