2006 Nebraska gubernatorial election

2006 Nebraska gubernatorial election
	Heineman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Hahn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Tie: 40–50% 50% No votes
Governor before election; Dave Heineman; Republican	Elected Governor ; Dave Heineman; Republican

The 2006 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006; the primary election was held on May 9, 2006. Republican incumbent Dave Heineman was elected to a full term, defeating Democrat David Hahn.

Republican primary

Candidates

Dave Heineman, incumbent Governor of Nebraska
Dave Nabity, financial consultant, former Young Republicans state chair
Tom Osborne, U.S. Congressman, former football coach

Campaign

The Republican primary election had the unusual situation of an incumbent running against several members of his own party. Originally, the 2006 election would not have had an incumbent. However, this changed when Mike Johanns resigned in January 2005 to become United States Secretary of Agriculture; this elevated Lieutenant Governor Dave Heineman to the governorship. He then announced his intention to run for election to a full four-year term. The other two candidates for the Republican nomination were former Nebraska Cornhuskers football coach Tom Osborne—then serving in the United States House of Representatives—and Omaha businessman Dave Nabity.

In 2005, the three Republican candidates raised more than $2 million overall for their campaigns: Osborne $972,000; Heineman $922,000; and Nabity $150,000.

Osborne named Kate Witek, the Nebraska State Auditor, as his running mate for the office of lieutenant governor.^[1] She had previously been the running mate of Gene Spence in the 1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election. After the Osborne-Witek ticket was unsuccessful in the Republican primaries, Witek switched parties and joined the Democratic party.^[1]

Results

Republican Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (incumbent)	138,216	50.26
	Republican	Tom Osborne	121,973	44.36
	Republican	Dave Nabity	14,786	5.38
Total votes			274,975	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Glenn R. Boot, Jr., truck driver
David Hahn, attorney and internet development company CEO

Campaign

The Democratic primary election did not have any candidates until December 2005, when David Hahn announced his candidacy. Glenn Boot Jr. of Ashland was the other Democratic candidate, but he was disqualified due to a previous felony conviction. The election was not a high priority for Nebraska Democrats. While the main reason was focusing on getting U.S. Senator Ben Nelson reelected, it was very likely that most Democrats didn't want to face the possibility of running against the immensely popular Osborne.

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Hahn	68,004	91.57
	Democratic	Glenn R. Boot, Jr.	6,259	8.43
Total votes			74,263	100.00

Nebraska Party primary

Candidates

Barry Richards, farmer

Results

Nebraska Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nebraska	Barry Richards	138	100.00
Total votes			138	100.00

Independent candidates

Mort Sullivan, perennial candidate

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[3]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[4]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[5]	Safe R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[6]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Dave Heineman (R)	David Hahn (D)
Rasmussen	October 19, 2006	70%	22%
Rasmussen	September 26, 2006	72%	18%
Rasmussen	August 17, 2006	71%	18%
Rasmussen	July 17, 2006	66%	21%

Results

Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2006^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dave Heineman (incumbent)	435,507	73.40%	+4.72%
	Democratic	David Hahn	145,115	24.46%	−3.06%
	Nebraska	Barry Richards	8,953	1.51%	−2.29%
	Independent	Mort Sullivan	3,782	0.64%
Majority			290,392	48.94%	+7.78%
Turnout			593,357
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b Don Walton (August 18, 2006), "Witek leaves GOP to join Dems", Lincoln Journal Star, p. 15, retrieved June 22, 2023
^ ^a ^b ^c "Governor". Archived from the original on November 14, 2007.
^ "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.
^ "Governor and Lieutenant Governor". Archived from the original on May 7, 2008.