2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election South Carolina presidential no 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election 2002 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election 2010 November 7, 2006 Mark Sanford, Official Portrait, 113th Congress (cropped).jpg Mark Sanford Republican Party (United States) 601,868 55.12% 3x4.svg Tommy Moore Democratic Party (United States) 489,076 44.79% 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 230px County resultsSanford: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Moore: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% Governor Mark Sanford Republican Party (United States) Mark Sanford Republican Party (United States) The 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford won re-election against Democratic State Senator Tommy Moore, becoming only the third Republican governor in South Carolina to win a second term (Robert Kingston Scott and Carroll A. Campbell Jr. were the others). Sanford started the campaign with a double-digit edge over Moore, and he maintained that lead to election day. During the campaign, Sanford's approval rating averaged in the mid-fifties.http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollTrack.aspx?g=79bc576e-2f1d-4cec-a2b4-94aecce55b09 Do you approve or disapprove of the job Mark Sanford is doing as Governor? SurveyUSA In Sanford's re-election victory, he garnered 22% of the African American vote. Democratic primary Tommy Moore, a state senator from western South Carolina, emerged with Florence Mayor Frank Willis as the major candidates in the Democratic primary election for governor. Rumors circulated that Superintendent of Education and former U.S. Senate candidate Inez Tenenbaum might enter the race, but she ultimately chose not to run for governor nor seek re-election to her position. Kenneth Holland, a former U.S. representative from the 5th congressional district, briefly entered the race, but dropped out a month later after failing to raise enough financial contributions. Moore and Willis traded barbs over campaign contributions made by Willis and his wife to prominent Republicans, including President George W. Bush and Senator Lindsey Graham. Attorney C. Dennis Aughtry entered the campaign at the eleventh hour and floated the idea of legalizing casinos statewide to raise money for public schools. Moore garnered more than 50% of the vote in the Democratic primary held on June 13 and thus avoided a runoff election. Democratic primary resultsSouth Carolina Election Returns - June 13, 2006 Democratic Primary - Official Results http://www.scvotes.org/files/06primaryOfficial/DemocratStatewide.pdf South Carolina State Election Commission https://web.archive.org/web/20150330064118/http://www.scvotes.org/files/06primaryOfficial/DemocratStatewide.pdf March 30, 2015 dead Tommy Moore Democratic Party (United States) 88,092 63.68 Frank Willis Democratic Party (United States) 42,317 30.59 C. Dennis Aughtry Democratic Party (United States) 7,934 5.74 138,343 100 Republican primary thumb|230px|Primary results by county: #ed8783 Sanford #ed8783 50–60% #e55651 60–70% #d02923 70–80% #b00600 80–90% #c88fe4 Lovelace #c88fe4 50–60% #b368d9 60–70% Portending a sign of trouble, incumbent Governor Mark Sanford faced a primary challenge from Oscar Lovelace, a physician from the Midlands. When former Governor David Beasley ran for re-election in 1998, he faced a primary challenge and went on to lose the general election to Jim Hodges. Sanford's veto of a heart center for Lexington County and theatrics such as bringing pigs to the Statehouse to show his displeasure of pork barrel spending by the General Assembly angered and annoyed many Republicans. However, Sanford's strategy of avoiding Lovelace and refusal to debate worked as the governor scored a decisive victory in the primary on June 13. Republican primary resultsSouth Carolina Election Returns - June 13, 2006 Republican Primary - Official Results https://www.scvotes.gov/files/06primaryOfficial/RepublicanStatewide.pdf South Carolina State Election Commission https://web.archive.org/web/20220802021021/https://www.scvotes.gov/files/06primaryOfficial/RepublicanStatewide.pdf August 2, 2022 dead Mark Sanford (incumbent) Republican Party (United States) 160,238 64.80 Oscar Lovelace Republican Party (United States) 87,043 35.20 247,281 100 Campaign Governor Mark Sanford proposed three major issues in his campaign for re-election, chief among them being the restructuring of state government. He wanted to reduce the number of statewide elected officials from nine to three and eliminate the state's Budget and Control Board. The governor insisted that these measures would reduce the number of redundant positions and make state government both more efficient and less costly. Sanford's three major issues for the campaign were: Restructuring state government School choice through tuition tax credits Tax cuts and spending restraint State Senator Tommy Moore ran as a good manager of state government. He held socially conservative and fiscally moderate positions, which put him squarely at odds with the libertarian incumbent. Moore disagreed with what he believed was Sanford's condescending and combative approach of dealing with the General Assembly. The senator also believed that Sanford lacked leadership skills, and that lack of leadership had brought South Carolina to a standstill over the past four years in his view. The main policy proposals that he developed were: A rural infrastructure bank to help undeveloped counties A governor's office that actively recruits new businesses to the state A 30-cent tax increase on cigarettes to offset small business tax credits for employee health insurance On July 7, several weeks after the primary election, Lexington County State Senator Jake Knotts launched a last-minute effort to place his name on the ballot as a petition candidate for governor. He had feuded with Governor Sanford over a number of issues, including the heart center for Lexington County, and supported Lovelace in the Republican primary. In order to be on the ballot in November, Knotts needed to collect 10,000 signatures of registered voters by July 17, which he failed to do. Knotts's political consultant publicly stated that he could not have raised enough money to have run a successful candidacy. There were two trains of thought on the effects of a candidacy by Knotts. It was generally believed that had Knotts entered the race, it would have split the Republican vote and helped elect Tommy Moore. However, because those who supported Knotts went on to support Moore, it was also argued that a Knotts candidacy would have in fact deprived Moore of both votes and money. Predictions Source Ranking As of The Cook Political Report2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006 https://cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_gov_ratings_nov6.pdf The Cook Political Report October 1, 2006 June 5, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080605094803/https://cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_gov_ratings_nov6.pdf dead Likely R November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal BallElection Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs2006110601/ Sabato's Crystal Ball June 25, 2021 Safe R November 6, 2006 Rothenberg Political Report2006 Gubernatorial Ratings https://www.insideelections.com/ratings/governor/2006-gubernatorial-ratings Senate Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report June 25, 2021 Safe R November 2, 2006 Real Clear PoliticsElection 2006 https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/writeup/election_2006-21.html Real Clear Politics June 25, 2021 Safe R November 6, 2006 Polling Source Date TommyMoore (D) MarkSanford (R)Survey USASurvey USA November 5, 200640% 57%Palmetto PollPalmetto Poll October 26, 200631% 58%RasmussenRasmussen October 25, 200634% 57%Survey USASurvey USA October 17, 200641% 56%Survey USASurvey USA September 28, 200646% 50%Survey USASurvey USA September 20, 200641% 54%Rasmussen September 10, 200638% 51%RasmussenRasmussen https://web.archive.org/web/20060922092145/http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/July%202006/southCarolinaGovernor.htm 2006-09-22 August 4, 200638% 47%RasmussenRasmussen June 23, 200639% 51%RasmussenRasmussen May 10, 200633% 52%RasmussenRasmussen February 17, 200636% 49% Results South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2006 Republican Party (US) Mark Sanford (incumbent) 601,868 55.12% +2.2% Democratic Party (US) Tommy Moore 489,076 44.79% -2.2% Independent Write-ins 1,008 0.1% 112,792 10.3% +4.4% 1,091,952 44.5% -9.6% |- | Republican Party (United States) | colspan=5 |Republican hold |- Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Colleton (largest city: Walterboro) Lancaster (largest city: Lancaster) Darlington (largest city: Hartsville) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Newberry (largest city: Newberry) Saluda (largest city: Saluda) Edgefield (largest city: Edgefield) See also 2006 United States gubernatorial elections Governor of South Carolina List of governors of South Carolina South Carolina gubernatorial elections 2006 South Carolina state elections References External links Tommy Moore (D) for Governor Mark Sanford (R) for Governor Dennis Aughtry (D) for Governor 2006 South Carolina Contest Results for Governor Gubernatorial 2006 Category:2006 United States gubernatorial elections