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.
, 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
Democratic primary
Candidates Charles Fogarty, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, former Rhode Island state senator
Results
General election
Predictions Source Ranking As of The Cook Political Report November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2006 Rothenberg Political Report November 2, 2006 Real Clear Politics November 6, 2006
Polling Source Date DonaldCarcieri (R) Charles J.Fogarty (D)RasmussenRasmussen October 24, 2006 51% 44%RasmussenRasmussen October 8, 2006 47% 44%RasmussenRasmussen September 5, 2006 41% 46%RasmussenRasmussen August 9, 2006 43% 43%RasmussenRasmussen July 18, 2006 42% 43%Brown UniversityBrown University June 26, 2006 44% 39%Rhode Island CollegeRhode Island College June 21, 2006 44% 39%RasmussenRasmussen June 12, 2006 40% 41%RasmussenRasmussen May 4, 2006 41% 42%Brown UniversityBrown University February 8, 2006 46% 35%Brown UniversityBrown University 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.
By county Donald CarcieriRepublican Charles FogartyDemocratic Others County Votes % Votes % Votes % Bristol12,23658.0%8,85741.9%210.1% Kent40,50355.4%32,51544.5%930.1% Newport20,30559.9%13,55440.0%320.1% Providence91,62345.0%111,60154.8%2580.1% Washington32,69958.6%23,03541.3%700.1%
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Providence (largest municipality: Providence)
References
External links Official campaign websites (Archived) Don Carcieri Charles Fogarty