2006 Ohio gubernatorial election

The Ohio gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006, and was a race for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. Incumbent Governor Bob Taft could not run for re-election, because Ohio governors are limited to two consecutive terms in office. The election was held concurrently with a U.S. Senate election.

2006 Ohio gubernatorial election

November 7, 2006
 
Nominee Ted Strickland Ken Blackwell
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Lee Fisher Tom Raga
Popular vote 2,435,384 1,474,285
Percentage 60.5% 36.6%

County Results
Strickland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Blackwell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Bob Taft
Republican

Elected Governor

Ted Strickland
Democratic

The general election for governor pitted Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican nominee, against United States Congressman Ted Strickland of Ohio's 6th congressional district, the Democratic nominee.

Their running mates were former Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher on the Democratic ticket and State Representative Tom Raga on the Republican ticket.

In the end, the contest was not close, and Strickland captured about 60 percent of the vote; Blackwell conceded to Strickland at about 8:45 p.m. EST on November 7, 2006.[1] As of 2021, this is the most recent election in which a Democrat was elected Governor of Ohio.

Historical background

National attention

As the election approached, there was increasing national attention on the Ohio gubernatorial election, focused largely on the ability of the Republican party to maintain control in Ohio. Results in Ohio in 2006 were regarded as a possible bellwether for the 2008 presidential election;[2] Ohio was considered a crucial swing state, with 20 electoral votes. Since the Republican Party's inception in 1854, no Republican presidential candidate has ever been elected to office without the electoral votes of Ohio. In contrast, a Democratic candidate has won the national election without the support of Ohio eight times (1836, 1844, 1856, 1884, 1892, 1944, 1960, and 2020). Overall, Ohio's electoral votes have gone to the winner of the election 78% of the time.

Comedian and talk-show host Jon Stewart taped The Daily Show from October 30 to November 2, 2006, at the Roy Bowen Theater on the campus of Ohio State University. The series of episodes was entitled "Battlefield Ohio: The Daily Show's Midwest Midterm Midtacular" and was intended to bring further national attention to the election in Ohio.[3] This was only the second time that the show had been filmed in a location other than New York City.

Ohio, Blackwell, and the 2004 election

Ohio played a decisive role in the 2004 presidential election, as Ohio's electoral votes would have been sufficient to swing the election from George W. Bush to John Kerry had Kerry won in Ohio. Given the importance of the state, Blackwell's role in the conduct of the election was closely scrutinized. As Ohio Secretary of State, Blackwell was the state's chief elections officer. He was also an honorary co-chair for the Bush re-election campaign in Ohio and the most prominent backer of a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage on the same ballot.

Leading up to the election Blackwell made a number of decisions about the election process, most of which placed additional restrictions on voting. Opponents argued that Blackwell's decisions would have the effect of suppressing turnout among vulnerable populations, most of whom would be expected to vote for Kerry in the presidential contest—and that Blackwell had a conflict of interest as a co-chair of Bush's re-election campaign. Supporters argued that the Secretary of State had always been a partisan political office and that there was nothing wrong with Blackwell having a preference in the presidential elections; they denied that Blackwell's decisions were designed to benefit Bush.

Reaction to Blackwell's conduct was so strong that a coalition of left-leaning organizations attempted to amend the Ohio Constitution to abolish the Secretary of State's oversight of elections, as part of a package of election reforms. The proposal was rejected by voters in November 2005.[4] Dissatisfaction with Blackwell's involvement in the 2004 election apparently hurt him with Ohio's African-American community; according to exit polls, Blackwell received only 20% of the African-American vote in 2006.[5] Exit polls showed that confidence in the election process among Ohio voters was even lower than voters in Florida, the state which produced an unprecedented five-week post-election fight in 2000.[6] But among voters "very confident" that votes would be counted accurately, Blackwell actually led Strickland.

Republican control

Entering the 2006 campaign, Ohio had been dominated for a decade by Republicans. Republicans had held the governorship for sixteen years, occupied all statewide constitutional offices, and controlled both houses of the state legislature.

Bob Taft

At a low point in his popularity in November 2005, Taft garnered only a 6.5% approval rating.[7] According to polling organization Survey USA, this was a lower proportion than any governor in the United States.[8] A poll taken in May 2006 indicated that only 2% of Ohio residents "strongly approved" of Taft's performance. The low approval ratings led pollster John Zogby to comment, "I'm not aware of anyone who's ever sunk lower."[7][9]

Taft's low approval ratings follow several years of scandals. In 2005, Taft pleaded no contest to four ethics violations involving illegal gifts totaling $5,800.[10] He was convicted of four misdemeanors and was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and apologize to the people of Ohio. Taft is the only Ohio governor to be convicted of a crime while in office.

Thomas Noe and Coingate

In 1996 the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly removed a restriction requiring that state investments only be in safer, though lower-yielding, bonds. After the restriction was eliminated, hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds were invested by a number of investment firms with close ties to the Republican party. Among those investments was $50 million of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation fund which was given to Thomas Noe, an investor in rare and unusual coins and major donor to the Republican Party including then-governor Bob Taft.[11]

In 2005 it was revealed that Noe could only account for $13 million of the original investment. Among the missing funds were two coins worth over $300,000 alone. Throughout 2005, there was a protracted legal battle over the release of records which Noe claimed were privileged and prosecutors claimed were in the public domain. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in favor of the prosecutors. On February 13, 2006, Noe was indicted on 53 counts, including: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (which carries a mandatory 10-year sentence), 11 counts of theft, 11 counts of money laundering, 8 counts of tampering with records, and 22 counts of forgery. The charges also accuse Noe of personally stealing $2 million. On November 20, 2006, Noe was found guilty of theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity, and was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison, fined $213,000, ordered to pay the $2 million cost of his prosecution and make restitution to the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation.

Also in 2006, Noe pleaded guilty to three charges of using over a dozen people in 2004 as illegal "conduits" to make donations to George W. Bush's re-election campaign of over $45,000 in order to skirt laws limiting donations in federal campaigns to $2,000. Noe was convicted and sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $136,000 fine.[12]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

When Strickland first launched his campaign, he was originally also in a tough fight for the nomination, as Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman was also campaigning and raising money. Before attacks were traded between the nominees, Coleman bowed out, citing a need to spend more time with his family.[13]

Results

Democratic primary results[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ted Strickland 634,114 79.23
Democratic Bryan Flannery 166,253 20.77
Total votes 800,367 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Blackwell and Petro were initially going to be joined in their competitive primary by Ohio State Auditor Betty Montgomery, but Montgomery withdrew from the contest and instead ran for state attorney general, an office she lost. The campaign between the two candidates then heated up; despite commercials preaching his conservative values, Petro was never able to shake his previous pro-choice stance.[15] As the election approached, the barbs grew worse between Petro and Blackwell, only serving to bring more negative attention to the Ohio Republican Party.

Results

Republican primary results[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ken Blackwell 460,349 55.73
Republican Jim Petro 365,618 44.27
Total votes 825,967 100.00

General election

Campaign finance

Ted Strickland campaigning before the election

The race for the 2006 election was, in 2006, the most expensive in Ohio's history. Reflective of both the national significance of the race, as well as the powerful fund-raising capabilities of both parties, Blackwell and Strickland passed the previous fund raising record set in 1998. That record, set when current Governor Bob Taft was running against Lee Fisher (Strickland's running mate), totaled a combined $18 million by the end of the election. As of September 9, 2006, Blackwell and Strickland had already raised a combined $21.2 million. Strickland led Blackwell, $11.2 million to $10 million.[17] Most of the money raised in Ohio by both major party candidates came from a single zip code in downtown Columbus, which is home to their respective parties, labor and political groups, lobbyists and lawyers.[18]

A significant amount of money was spent by private groups on behalf of the candidates as well, the estimated combined total at the time of the May 2 primary was $50 million.[19]

Polling

Graph of average poll results, Nov 2005- Oct 2006

Since the first polls on the general election matchup were taken in November 2005, Strickland led Blackwell, though the margin substantially increased in March 2006.

The greatest margin recorded in an individual poll was found in the October 26, 2006, SurveyUSA poll which showed Strickland leading by 30 points. The smallest recorded margin was the February 6, 2006, Zogby poll showing Strickland leading by a mere 3 points. When the results are averaged across the different polls, the greatest margin was in October 2006 with a difference of 22.6 points in favor of Strickland. The smallest average margin was during January 2006 with Strickland leading Blackwell by 4 points.

Poll source Date(s) administered Ted
Strickland (D)
Ken
Blackwell (R)
Bill
Peirce (L)
Bob
Fitrakis (G)
Survey USA November 6, 2006 55% 38% 2% 1%
University of Cincinnati November 6, 2006 59% 37% 4% (Independents combined)
CNN October 31, 2006 59% 36%
Survey USA October 26, 2006 62% 32% 1% 1%
Quinnipiac October 18, 2006 59% 32%
NY Times/CBS News October 18, 2006 53% 29% 2% (Independents combined)
University of Cincinnati October 14, 2006 52% 38% 3% 1%
Survey USA October 12, 2006 60% 32% 2% 1%
Rasmussen October 6, 2006 52% 40%
Zogby September 28, 2006 48.3% 39.7%
Survey USA September 28, 2006 56% 35% 2% 2%
Rasmussen September 20, 2006 54% 35%
Quinnipiac September 19, 2006 56% 34%
University of Cincinnati September 17, 2006 50% 38% 3% 2%
Zogby September 11, 2006 47.5% 41.8%
Zogby August 28, 2006 49.7% 41.4%
Rasmussen August 27, 2006 57% 32%
Survey USA August 7, 2006 57% 35% 2% 1%
Rasmussen August 1, 2006 50% 39%
Zogby July 24, 2006 48.4% 43.8%
Columbus Dispatch July 23, 2006 47% 27%
Rasmussen June 27, 2006 50% 37%
Zogby June 21, 2006 49.1% 44.3%
Survey USA June 13, 2006 53% 37% 2% 1%
University of Cincinnati May 25, 2006 50% 44% 2% (Independents combined)
Rasmussen May 18, 2006 52% 36%
Rasmussen April 25, 2006 52% 35%
Rasmussen March 31, 2006 50% 40%
Rasmussen February 19, 2006 47% 35%
Zogby February 6, 2006 38% 35%
Rasmussen January 7, 2006 44% 40%
Rasmussen November 15, 2005 42% 36%

Results

Strickland, the Democrat, did very well. Strickland won most areas of the state. Strickland trounced Blackwell in eastern Ohio, with Blackwell only carrying one county in this region (Holmes). Blackwell did well in the Cincinnati suburbs, although he only narrowly managed to win Hamilton County which encompasses the City of Cincinnati by just about 2,000 votes. Blackwell did manage to win some rural western counties as well. Blackwell only managed to win 16 out of Ohio's 88 counties. Strickland not only did well in areas that lean more Republican, but he also won the traditional Democratic counties. Strickland trounced Blackwell in Cuyahoga County and Franklin County, home of Cleveland and Columbus respectively. Strickland also performed strongly in the Democratic rust belt area from Cleveland all the way to Toledo. Strickland also did well in the Akron-Youngstown Area. Strickland was declared the winner right at 7:30 P.M. EST time when the polls closed in Ohio. Blackwell called Strickland and conceded defeat at 8:45 P.M. EST time. This would turn out to be one of the most expensive Ohio gubernatorial elections in the state's history.

Results by county

County Ted Strickland
Democratic
Ken Blackwell
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Adams 4,725 54.40% 3,771 43.42% 189 2.18% 954 10.98% 8,685
Allen 18,000 49.68% 17,184 47.43% 1,045 2.88% 816 2.25% 36,229
Ashland 9,492 49.04% 9,154 47.30% 709 3.66% 338 1.75% 19,355
Ashtabula 22,255 65.72% 10,406 30.73% 1,204 3.56% 11,849 34.99% 33,865
Athens 16,188 81.59% 3,303 16.65% 349 1.76% 12,885 64.94% 19,840
Auglaize 7,606 44.99% 8,687 51.38% 614 3.63% -1,081 -6.39% 16,907
Belmont 17,842 74.35% 5,593 23.31% 561 2.34% 12,249 51.05% 23,996
Brown 7,743 55.13% 5,956 42.41% 345 2.46% 1,787 12.72% 14,044
Butler 52,365 45.18% 60,018 51.79% 3,512 3.03% -7,653 -6.60% 115,895
Carroll 6,903 61.90% 3,753 33.65% 496 4.45% 3,150 28.25% 11,152
Champaign 7,475 52.40% 6,355 44.55% 434 3.04% 1,120 7.85% 14,264
Clark 29,364 59.86% 18,200 37.10% 1,492 3.04% 11,164 22.76% 49,056
Clermont 27,307 42.00% 35,687 54.89% 2,016 3.10% -8,380 -12.89% 65,010
Clinton 6,342 50.15% 5,947 47.03% 357 2.82% 395 3.12% 12,646
Columbiana 23,914 66.02% 11,326 31.27% 983 2.71% 12,588 34.75% 36,223
Coshocton 7,754 57.83% 5,184 38.66% 470 3.51% 2,570 19.17% 13,408
Crawford 8,287 49.49% 7,863 46.96% 594 3.55% 424 2.53% 16,744
Cuyahoga 335,306 73.84% 107,234 23.61% 11,560 2.55% 228,072 50.23% 454,100
Darke 9,365 46.31% 10,018 49.54% 840 4.15% -653 -3.23% 20,223
Defiance 6,798 49.85% 6,298 46.18% 542 3.97% 500 3.67% 13,638
Delaware 32,504 50.18% 30,931 47.75% 1,338 2.07% 1,573 2.43% 64,773
Erie 20,256 67.28% 9,089 30.19% 761 2.53% 11,167 37.09% 30,106
Fairfield 30,180 55.88% 22,363 41.41% 1,461 2.71% 7,817 14.47% 54,004
Fayette 4,384 52.18% 3,845 45.76% 173 2.06% 539 6.42% 8,402
Franklin 241,536 64.71% 122,601 32.85% 9,121 2.44% 118,935 31.86% 373,258
Fulton 8,193 50.76% 7,421 45.98% 527 3.26% 772 4.78% 16,141
Gallia 6,574 64.67% 3,406 33.51% 185 1.82% 3,168 31.17% 10,165
Geauga 22,154 56.59% 15,850 40.49% 1,144 2.92% 6,304 16.10% 39,148
Greene 28,612 48.40% 28,713 48.57% 1,788 3.02% -101 -0.17% 59,113
Guernsey 8,350 62.43% 4,601 34.40% 424 3.17% 3,749 28.03% 13,375
Hamilton 139,451 48.51% 141,374 49.17% 6,671 2.32% -1,923 -0.67% 287,496
Hancock 10,934 42.59% 14,007 54.56% 734 2.86% -3,073 -11.97% 25,675
Hardin 5,273 54.23% 4,099 42.16% 351 3.61% 1,174 12.07% 9,723
Harrison 4,238 69.53% 1,661 27.25% 196 3.22% 2,577 42.28% 6,095
Henry 5,723 49.88% 5,371 46.81% 379 3.30% 352 3.07% 11,473
Highland 7,007 53.25% 5,822 44.25% 329 2.50% 1,185 9.01% 13,158
Hocking 6,619 67.13% 2,990 30.32% 251 2.55% 3,629 36.81% 9,860
Holmes 3,301 40.71% 4,514 55.67% 293 3.61% -1,213 -14.96% 8,108
Huron 10,718 56.66% 7,592 40.13% 607 3.21% 3,126 16.52% 18,917
Jackson 7,117 68.28% 3,150 30.22% 156 1.50% 3,967 38.06% 10,423
Jefferson 18,071 69.15% 7,187 27.50% 875 3.35% 10,884 41.65% 26,133
Knox 10,278 49.46% 9,944 47.85% 558 2.69% 334 1.61% 20,780
Lake 56,482 64.18% 28,675 32.58% 2,849 3.24% 27,807 31.60% 88,006
Lawrence 13,530 70.80% 5,287 27.67% 292 1.53% 8,243 43.14% 19,109
Licking 32,455 54.96% 24,740 41.90% 1,856 3.14% 7,715 13.06% 59,051
Logan 7,611 47.33% 7,941 49.38% 528 3.28% -330 -2.05% 16,080
Lorain 68,783 68.35% 28,342 28.16% 3,507 3.48% 40,441 40.19% 100,632
Lucas 95,118 66.62% 44,307 31.03% 3,359 2.35% 50,811 35.59% 142,784
Madison 7,244 53.89% 5,815 43.26% 382 2.84% 1,429 10.63% 13,441
Mahoning 72,076 75.67% 20,356 21.37% 2,819 2.96% 51,720 54.30% 95,251
Marion 11,963 55.15% 9,054 41.74% 674 3.11% 2,909 13.41% 21,691
Medina 39,061 59.63% 24,629 37.60% 1,821 2.78% 14,432 22.03% 65,511
Meigs 5,295 68.70% 2,285 29.65% 127 1.65% 3,010 39.06% 7,707
Mercer 5,692 36.38% 9,429 60.26% 525 3.36% -3,737 -23.88% 15,646
Miami 17,263 46.59% 18,395 49.64% 1,396 3.77% -1,132 -3.06% 37,054
Monroe 4,682 77.18% 1,237 20.39% 147 2.42% 3,445 56.79% 6,066
Montgomery 107,593 56.87% 76,189 40.27% 5,419 2.86% 31,404 16.60% 189,201
Morgan 3,468 62.87% 1,876 34.01% 172 3.12% 1,592 28.86% 5,516
Morrow 6,425 51.09% 5,668 45.07% 482 3.83% 757 6.02% 12,575
Muskingum 16,733 58.26% 11,073 38.56% 913 3.18% 5,660 19.71% 28,719
Noble 3,342 65.89% 1,583 31.21% 147 2.90% 1,759 34.68% 5,072
Ottawa 10,858 63.10% 5,809 33.76% 540 3.14% 5,049 29.34% 17,207
Paulding 3,717 49.70% 3,276 43.80% 486 6.50% 441 5.90% 7,479
Perry 7,371 65.28% 3,577 31.68% 343 3.04% 3,794 33.60% 11,291
Pickaway 10,609 59.07% 6,953 38.71% 398 2.22% 3,656 20.36% 17,960
Pike 7,118 72.81% 2,511 25.69% 147 1.50% 4,607 47.13% 9,776
Portage 36,553 66.50% 16,223 29.51% 2,194 3.99% 20,330 36.98% 54,970
Preble 7,863 50.56% 7,096 45.62% 594 3.82% 767 4.93% 15,553
Putnam 6,439 45.47% 7,248 51.18% 474 3.35% -809 -5.71% 14,161
Richland 24,398 53.27% 19,855 43.35% 1,546 3.38% 4,543 9.92% 45,799
Ross 15,930 66.82% 7,452 31.26% 457 1.92% 8,478 35.56% 23,839
Sandusky 13,473 59.26% 8,467 37.24% 796 3.50% 5,006 22.02% 22,736
Scioto 19,784 75.03% 6,328 24.00% 257 0.97% 13,456 51.03% 26,369
Seneca 11,387 56.79% 8,011 39.95% 653 3.26% 3,376 16.84% 20,051
Shelby 8,061 47.34% 8,358 49.08% 610 3.58% -297 -1.74% 17,029
Stark 89,416 64.14% 45,413 32.57% 4,585 3.29% 44,003 31.56% 139,414
Summit 135,147 68.34% 57,344 29.00% 5,256 2.66% 77,803 39.34% 197,747
Trumbull 60,161 74.16% 18,556 22.87% 2,411 2.97% 41,605 51.28% 81,128
Tuscarawas 20,556 65.08% 10,134 32.08% 895 2.83% 10,422 33.00% 31,585
Union 7,689 45.56% 8,613 51.03% 575 3.41% -924 -5.47% 16,877
Van Wert 4,514 43.37% 5,331 51.22% 564 5.42% -817 -7.85% 10,409
Vinton 3,165 71.57% 1,166 26.37% 91 2.06% 1,999 45.21% 4,422
Warren 27,434 40.29% 39,094 57.41% 1,563 2.30% -11,660 -17.12% 68,091
Washington 15,037 65.99% 7,412 32.53% 339 1.49% 7,625 33.46% 22,788
Wayne 19,820 51.42% 17,504 45.41% 1,222 3.17% 2,316 6.01% 38,546
Williams 6,696 51.38% 5,853 44.91% 484 3.71% 843 6.47% 13,033
Wood 26,771 58.69% 17,500 38.36% 1,345 2.95% 9,271 20.32% 45,616
Wyandot 4,097 50.21% 3,852 47.21% 211 2.59% 245 3.00% 8,160
Totals2,435,38460.54%1,474,28536.65%113,0852.81%961,09923.89%4,022,754
Ohio gubernatorial election, 2006[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ted Strickland 2,435,384 60.54% +22.23%
Republican Ken Blackwell 1,474,285 36.65% -21.11%
Libertarian Bill Peirce 71,468 1.78%
Green Bob Fitrakis 40,965 1.02%
Write-ins 652 0.02%
Majority 961,099 23.89% +4.44%
Turnout 4,022,754 53.25%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing

See also

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Urbina, Ian (April 21, 2006). "In the Race for Ohio Governor, All Sides Agree on a Need for Change". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  3. Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (December 7, 2005). "Officials pushed out of politics". Chillicothe Gazette. Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2019 via Newspapers.com. Blackwell opposes the legislation [to prohibit the Secretary of State from participating in a campaign other than his own], noting Ohio voters last month overwhelmingly defeated a ballot proposal that would have stripped the secretary of state of most election duties.
  4. "CNN.com – Elections 2006". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  5. "CNN.com – Elections 2006". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2006-04-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2006-07-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 26, 2006. Retrieved May 15, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-04-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-02-23. Retrieved 2011-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Coleman drops out of Ohio governor's race". November 29, 2005.
  13. http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Research/electResultsMain/2006ElectionsResults/06-0502DemGov.aspx
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-01-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Research/electResultsMain/2006ElectionsResults/06-0502RepGov.aspx
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2011-06-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. Smyth, Julie Carr (2006-05-04). "Ohio again center of political stage". The Cincinnati Post (Associated Press). p. A2. Archived from the original on 2006-08-21. Spending estimates already have reached $50 million.
  18. http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Research/electResultsMain/2006ElectionsResults/06-1107GovLieutGov.aspx
Campaign websites (Archived)
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