Georgia gubernatorial election, 2006

Infobox Election
election_name = Georgia gubernatorial election, 2006
country = Georgia (U.S. state)
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = Georgia gubernatorial election, 2002
previous_year = 2002
next_election = Georgia gubernatorial election, 2010
next_year = 2010
election_date = November 7 2006


nominee1 = Sonny Perdue
party1 = Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote1 = 1,229,724
percentage1 = 57.9


nominee2 = Mark Taylor
party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote2 = 811,049
percentage2 = 38.2
map_

---

map_size = 175px
map_caption = Election results by county
title = Governor
before_election = Sonny Perdue
before_party = Republican Party (United States)
after_election = Sonny Perdue
after_party = Republican Party (United States)The 2006 Georgia Gubernatorial Election was held on November 7, 2006. The primary election was held on July 18. Governor Sonny Perdue was re-elected to his second term; he is the first Republican Governor of Georgia since the end of Reconstruction. Currently Republicans control both houses of the General Assembly. During 2005 Perdue's approval rating fluctuated between the high fifties and low sixties; as of September 2006 his ratings sat at 63 percent approval. [http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2006/50StateGovernor060921State.htm]

Candidates

Incumbent Republican Sonny Perdue faced Democrat Mark Taylor and Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes in the November general election. Independent John Dashler withdrew from the race, unable to collect the 40,000 signatures needed to go on the ballot.

Democratic Party

*Mark Taylor - former Lt. Governor

Libertarian Party

*Garrett Michael Hayes

Republican Party

*Sonny Perdue - Proclaimed winner with only 12 percent of the precincts reporting.

Former Candidates

Democrats

*Bill Bolton - defeated by Taylor in the Democratic primary
*Cathy Cox - Secretary of state of Georgia, defeated by Taylor in the Democratic primary
*Mac McCarley - defeated by Taylor in the Democratic primary

Republicans

*Ray McBerry - defeated by Perdue in the Republican primary

Independents

*John Dashler - withdrew after failing to collect 40,000 signatures

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Sonny Perdue (incumbent)
votes = 1,229,724
percentage = 57.9
change = +6.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Mark Taylor
votes = 811,049
percentage = 38.2
change = -8.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Libertarian Party (United States)
candidate = Garrett Michael Hayes
votes = 81,412
percentage = 3.8
change = +1.5Election box majority
votes = 418,675
percentage = 19.7
change = +14.5Election box turnout
votes = 2,122,185
percentage =
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Republican Party (US)
swing =

Opinion Polls

General Election

Primary election

Perdue defeated his challenger, Ray McBerry, with 88 percent of the vote to 12 percent, with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Taylor defeated his challengers, Cathy Cox, Bill Bolton, and Mac McCarley, with 51.7 percent of the vote to Cox's 44 percent with Bolton and McCarley each receiving two percent of the vote, also with 97 percent of precincts reporting.

Campaign issues

Education

*"The HOPE Scholarship" program and its stability and continued solvency are recurring issues in Georgia politics. Citing budget constraints, Perdue signed Republican-sponsored legislation that significantly cut the benefits conferred by the program. Cox and Taylor both severely criticized the governor for these actions, and both pointed to the fact that Perdue voted against the legislation creating the program as a state senator in 1993. Perdue backed an amendment to the state constitution that would have shifted the allocation of the lottery funds that support the program, but the legislation was defeated [http://www.cbs46.com/Global/story.asp?S=4624902] .

::On April 19, 2006, Cox charged that Taylor had not sponsored the HOPE scholarship legislation in 1993, as he claimed. Taylor apparently sponsored a companion bill that did not pass, although he supported the bill that did pass. The incident portended a strongly negative campaign for the Democratic nomination.

*"College Tuition" may also be an issue. During Perdue's first term, Georgia's universities substantially increased tuition fees.

*"School funding": Perdue successfully backed legislation that requires Georgia schools to spend at least 65% of their budgets "in the classroom". Democrats charged that some school programs, such as music classes, do not fit the definition of "in the classroom."

Health Care

*"Peachcare", a state program providing medical care for needy children and families, emerged as a point of contention between Perdue and his challengers. Perdue approved a cut in the program during his administration. Taylor, a strong supporter of the program, was particularly vocal in attacking Perdue and advocating significant expansion of the program.

*"Medicaid": Perdue made Medicaid reform a priority during his first term. Democrats were critical of the reform proposal that Perdue presented to federal officials.

Immigration

The problem presented by illegal immigrants emerged during Georgia's 2006 legislative session as an issue likely to have a large impact on the gubernatorial campaign. Perdue signed legislation restricting the ability of illegal immigrants to access state resources, including health care and public education.

Voting

*"Voter identification" legislation signed by Perdue requiring photo identification for voting while expanding absentee voting opportunities had a substantial impact on the campaign. Democrats strongly denounced the legislation as discriminatory against the poor and elderly, while Republicans attempted to alleviate such concerns by providing access to photo identification for those not possessing it.

*"Paper ballots" were a major concern of Taylor supporters, who felt that Cox made a mistake when she brought electronic voting to Georgia as Secretary of State.

Campaign developments

Fundraising

Perdue had more financial resources on hand than Taylor. As of the March 31 filing, Perdue reported that he had in excess of $8 million on hand, while Taylor had $4.1 million in reserve. Perdue had the added advantage of facing a weak opponent in Ray McBerry in the primary election, while Cox and Taylor engaged in a bitter struggle for the Democratic nomination. Hayes, the Libertarian candidate, reported less than $1,000 on hand, though the September 11 Zogby poll showed him attracting a surprising 8.1 percent of polled voters.

Political advertisements

A minor controversy developed during the primary campaign over an ad created by Georgians for Truth, a group founded by several prominent Democratic fundraisers. The ad criticized Perdue for allegedly failing to pay his taxes for several years before becoming governor, allegations that had been made in the 2002 campaign as well. Cox and Taylor, for reasons that are not clear, requested that the group not run the ad, prompting the Georgia Democratic Party chairman, Bobby Kahn, to strongly rebuke the group's members.

ee also

*U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006
*State of Georgia
*Governors of Georgia

External links

* [http://www.votesonny.com Perdue Re-Election Site]
* [http://georgiafirst.org McBerry for Governor]
* [http://www.cathycox.com Cox for Governor]
* [http://www.marktaylor.com Taylor for Governor]
* [http://www.hayesforgovernor.com Hayes for Governor]
* [http://www.billboltongovernor.org Bolton for Governor]
* [http://www.dashlerforgov.com Dashler for Governor]