| Election Name: | 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Oregon |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2002 Oregon gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2002 |
| Next Election: | 2010 Oregon gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2010 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 2006 |
| Image1: | File:Ted Kulongoski headshot Color 2007 (cropped).JPG |
| Nominee1: | Ted Kulongoski |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 699,786 |
| Percentage1: | 50.7% |
| Nominee2: | Ron Saxton |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 589,748 |
| Percentage2: | 42.8% |
| Map Size: | 251px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Ted Kulongoski |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Ted Kulongoski |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski ran for a second and final term as governor. Kulongoski faced several challengers in his primary, whom he dispatched to win his party's nomination a second time, while Republican nominee Ron Saxton, the former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board and a candidate for governor in 2002 emerged from a crowded primary. Kulongoski and Saxton were initially going to be challenged in the general election by State Senator Ben Westlund, but Westlund withdrew his candidacy before the general election. There were multiple independent and third party challengers on the ballot as well. In a hard-fought campaign, Kulongoski won re-election by a surprisingly wide margin, winning his second term as governor.
As of 2023, this marks the last occasion in which the following counties have voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election: Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, and Wasco.
As the Democratic and Republican primaries intensified, State Senator Ben Westlund, a registered Republican, announced that he would run for governor as an independent.[1] Though Westlund gathered the requisite signatures to be able to run, he eventually dropped out of the race in August, noting, "At the beginning of this campaign, I made a commitment to the people of Oregon, that I was in it to win it, and that I absolutely would not play a spoiler role."[2] Constitution Party nominee Mary Starrett was widely perceived to win votes largely at the expense of Saxton's campaign.[3]
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[4] | November 6, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | November 6, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Rothenberg Political Report[6] | November 2, 2006 | ||
| align=left | Real Clear Politics[7] | November 6, 2006 |
| width=170px | Poll source | width=130px | Date administered | width=100px | Ted | width=100px | Ron Saxton (R) | width=100px | Mary Starrett (C) | width=100px | Richard Morley (L) | width=100px | Joe Keating (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KATU/Oregonian | October 31, 2006 | align=center | 45% | 38% | 6% | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| Rasmussen | October 31, 2006 | align=center | 51% | 44% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Riley Research | October 25, 2006 | align=center | 47% | 36% | 4% | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| Riley Research | October 3, 2006 | 37% | align=center | 39% | 2% | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| Rasmussen | October 1, 2006 | align=center | 47% | 42% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Rasmussen | September 25, 2006 | align=center | 47% | 38% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | September 11, 2006 | align=center | 47% | 40% | 5% | 1% | — | ||||||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | August 28, 2006 | align=center | 50% | 44% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Rasmussen | August 22, 2006 | align=center | 49% | 35% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Rasmussen | August 3, 2006 | align=center | 45% | 35% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | July 24, 2006 | align=center | 49% | 42% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | June 21, 2006 | align=center | 48% | 40% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Rasmussen | May 23, 2006 | align=center | 43% | 41% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Zogby Interactive Poll | March 22–27, 2006 | align=center | 46% | 39% | — | — | — | ||||||
| Rasmussen | February 27, 2006 | align=center | 47% | 33% | — | — | — | ||||||