2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
	Doyle: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Green: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Tie: 40–50% 50% No data
Governor before election; Jim Doyle; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Jim Doyle; Democratic

The 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Doyle ran for re-election to a second term in office. Doyle was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and he faced U.S. Representative Mark Green, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, in the general election. The campaign between Doyle and Green was competitive and hotly contested, but Doyle, whose approval ratings hovered around 50%, had the upper hand.^[1] In the end, Doyle defeated Green by a fairly comfortable margin, improving on his 2002 victory in the process.

This was the only Wisconsin gubernatorial election won by a Democrat with an outright majority of the vote between 1982 and 2022, and remains the largest winning margin garnered by a Democrat since 1982. As of 2024, this is the last gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate carried the counties of Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer, Iron, Price, Lincoln, Oneida, Forest, Marathon, Wood, Clark, Chippewa, Rusk, Barron, Dunn, Polk, St. Croix, Pierce, Pepin, Buffalo, Jackson, Monroe, Adams, Lafayette, Outagamie, and Winnebago. This election was the first time since 1974 that an incumbent Democratic Governor was re-elected or won re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Jim Doyle, incumbent Governor of Wisconsin

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (incumbent)	318,523	100.00%
Total votes			318,523	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Mark Green, U.S. Representative

Withdrew

Scott Walker, Milwaukee County Executive and former State Representative^[3]

Results

Republican primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Green	233,216	100.00%
Total votes			233,216	100.00%

Green Party primary

Candidates

Nelson Eisman

Results

Green Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Nelson Eisman	1,707	100.00%
Total votes			1,707	100.00%

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[4]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[5]	Lean D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[6]	Tossup	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[7]	Lean D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Jim Doyle (D)	Mark Green (R)
WISC-TV	November 2, 2006	50%	44%
Strategic Vision	October 31, 2006	47%	45%
Zogby/WSJ	October 31, 2006	46.7%	47.2%
Badger Poll Archived November 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine	October 30, 2006	50%	36%
Rasmussen	October 29, 2006	48%	44%
Wisconsin Public Radio	October 18, 2006	51%	38%
Strategic Vision	October 11, 2006	46%	43%
Rasmussen	September 25, 2006	47%	44%
Strategic Vision	September 20, 2006	46%	42%
Zogby/WSJ	September 11, 2006	49.4%	45.7%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28, 2006	49.7%	43.1%
Rasmussen	August 20, 2006	49%	41%
Strategic Vision	August 18, 2006	45%	44%
Research 2000	August 17, 2006	48%	38%
Zogby/WSJ	July 24, 2006	49.2%	44.7%
Rasmussen	July 20, 2006	47%	41%
Strategic Vision	July 20, 2006	43%	42%
University of Wisconsin Archived July 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine	July 2, 2006	49%	36%
WPRI	June 23, 2006	49%	37%
Zogby/WSJ	June 21, 2006	46.9%	45.1%
Strategic Vision	June 8, 2006	45%	46%
Strategic Vision	May 3, 2006	45%	43%
Rasmussen	April 28, 2006	47%	43%
Strategic Vision	April 13, 2006	43%	43%
WPR/St. Norbert College Survey	March 29 – April 7, 2006	43%	35%
Rasmussen Archived June 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine	March 29, 2006	45%	40%
Strategic Vision	March 8, 2006	44%	44%
Rasmussen	February 7, 2006	48%	41%
Strategic Vision	February 1, 2006	44%	43%
Strategic Vision	December 22, 2005	45%	43%
Rasmussen Archived December 16, 2005, at the Wayback Machine	December 12, 2005	45%	39%
Strategic Vision	November 16, 2005	47%	44%
Strategic Vision	October 21, 2005	47%	43%

Results

2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (incumbent)	1,139,115	52.76%	+7.60%
	Republican	Mark Green	979,427	45.36%	+3.92%
	Green	Nelson Eisman	40,709	1.89%	−0.60%
Total votes			2,159,251	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped Republican to Democratic

Burnett (largest village: Grantsburg)
Clark (largest city: Neillsville)
Outagamie (largest city: Appleton)
Door (largest city: Sturgeon Bay)
Sawyer (largest city: Hayward)
Winnebago (largest city: Oshkosh)
St. Croix (Largest city: Hudson)
Chippewa (largest city: Chippewa Falls)

Counties that flipped from Libertarian to Democratic

Monroe (largest city: Sparta)

Counties that flipped from Libertarian to Republican

Juneau (largest city: Mauston)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Racine (largest city: Racine)
Langlade (largest city: Antigo)
Manitowoc (largest city: Manitowoc)
Taylor (Largest city: Medford)

References

^ "SurveyUSA | America's Neighborhood Pollster".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Schultze, Steve (April 20, 2009). "Walker gov announcement expected April 28". Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
^ "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.