The 2006 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic governor Brad Henry won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican U.S. representative Ernest Istook. Henry took 66.5% of the vote to Istook's 33.5% and swept all but three counties in the state.
As of 2024[ [update]], this remains the last time that a Democrat was elected Governor of Oklahoma, or along with the concurrent elections, won any statewide office. Republicans later swept all statewide executive offices on the 2010 ballot, as they did majorities in both state legislative chambers.
Background.
Though Democrats had dominated state politics for most of Oklahoma's history, the Oklahoma Republican Party had recently gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and held five of the state's six Congressional seats. Henry's opponent, Republican Ernest Istook, was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.
As in many Southern states, Oklahoma has favored conservative Democrats to the more liberal members of the party. In his first term, Henry had supported some tax cuts and took centrist positions on many political hot button issues.
Democratic primary.
Results.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" | Total votes
References.
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External links.
Official campaign websites (Archived)