2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial election
	Carcieri: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Fogarty: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Donald Carcieri; Republican	Elected Governor ; Donald Carcieri; Republican

The 2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Donald Carcieri very narrowly defeated Democratic lieutenant governor Charles J. Fogarty in one of the closest gubernatorial elections in Rhode Island history. With a margin of 2%, this election was also the second-closest race of the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in Minnesota.

As of 2024^[update], this was the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Rhode Island and the last time a Republican won any statewide office in Rhode Island. This is also the last time the Republican candidate won the counties of Bristol and Washington. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor of Rhode Island.

Republican primary

Candidates

Donald Carcieri, incumbent governor of Rhode Island

Results

Republican Party primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Carcieri (incumbent)	51,650	100.00
Total votes			51,650	100.00

Democratic primary

Candidates

Charles Fogarty, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, former Rhode Island state senator

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles J. Fogarty	69,595	100.00
Total votes			69,595	100.00

General election

Predictions

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

Polling

Source	Date	Donald Carcieri (R)	Charles J. Fogarty (D)
Rasmussen^[7]	October 24, 2006	51%	44%
Rasmussen^[8]	October 8, 2006	47%	44%
Rasmussen^[9]	September 5, 2006	41%	46%
Rasmussen^[10]	August 9, 2006	43%	43%
Rasmussen^[11]	July 18, 2006	42%	43%
Brown University^[12]	June 26, 2006	44%	39%
Rhode Island College^[13]	June 21, 2006	44%	39%
Rasmussen^[14]	June 12, 2006	40%	41%
Rasmussen^[15]	May 4, 2006	41%	42%
Brown University^[16]	February 8, 2006	46%	35%
Brown University^[17]	September 13, 2005	42%	31%

Results

The 2006 gubernatorial election was one of the closest in the history of Rhode Island. Carcieri won all but one county. However, the one county that went for Fogarty was Providence County, home to Providence, Rhode Island, which is heavily populated and known for favoring Democrats. The race at one point was only at a margin of 7,803 votes. Finally at 3:48 A.M. on November 8, Carcieri was declared the winner by the Associated Press. Fogarty conceded early the next morning.

Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2006^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Donald Carcieri (incumbent)	197,306	51.01%	−3.75%
	Democratic	Charles J. Fogarty	189,503	48.99%	+3.75%
Majority			7,803	2.02%	−7.50%
Turnout			386,809
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Providence (largest municipality: Providence)

References

^ "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
^ "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
^ "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.
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen
^ Brown University
^ Rhode Island College Archived 2006-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen
^ Brown University
^ Brown University
^ "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.

External links

Official campaign websites (Archived)

[1] "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2018.

[2] "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2018.

[3] "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.

[4] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[5] "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[6] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[7] Rasmussen

[8] Rasmussen Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine

[9] Rasmussen

[10] Rasmussen

[11] Rasmussen

[12] Brown University

[13] Rhode Island College Archived 2006-07-03 at the Wayback Machine

[14] Rasmussen

[15] Rasmussen

[16] Brown University

[17] Brown University

[18] "Federal and Statewide Races Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.

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