Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006

Infobox Election
election_name = Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006
country = Pennsylvania
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2002
previous_year = 2002
next_election = Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010
next_year = 2010
election_date = November 7, 2006


candidate1 = Ed Rendell
party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1 = 2,422,606
percentage1 = 60.4%


candidate2 = Lynn Swann
party2 = Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote2 = 1,591,503
percentage2 = 39.6%
map_

---

map_size = 200px
map_caption = Election results by county
title = Governor
before_election = Ed Rendell
before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
after_election = Ed Rendell
after_party = Democratic Party (United States)The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006, and included the races for the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. The winning candidates will serve from January 16, 2007 to 2011.

The incumbent Governor, Ed Rendell (D), was running for re-election. Though some had speculated that Rendell would choose another running mate, [ [http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05122/497704.stm Knoll fights talk of replacement] ] Pennsylvania's first female Lieutenant Governor, Catherine Baker Knoll was also running for re-election. Rendell and Knoll had the advantage of incumbency, important in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Rendell's approval rating as of May 2006 was 62%. [ [http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2006/50StateGov060518State.htm Survey USA] ]

Challenging Rendell was former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer, Lynn Swann (R). His running mate was businessman Jim Matthews, a member and former Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and the brother of MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

In the 2000 Presidential election, former Vice President Al Gore won the state 51%-47% over then Texas Governor George W. Bush. In 2004, Senator John Kerry carried the state 51%-49% over incumbent President Bush.

Although the state has voted Democratic for 8 of the past 12 presidential elections, its Congressional delegation has been majority Republican for years. The counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny are the Democratic strongholds (Philadelphia: 75% Democrat, Allegheny: 60% Democrat), while the central part of the state is where the Republican Party fares best. The statewide party registration is: [ [http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/lib/bcel/voter_registration/2005_municipal_election_-_unofficial.pdf 2005 Municipal Election] ]

Candidates

Four candidates where campaigning for governor [ [http://www.politics1.com/pa.htm Politics1: Pennsylvania] ] , but only two went on to appear on the ballot in November. On August 11, Rogers withdrew her nominating papers, following a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats, who alleged more than 69,000 signatures on the petitions were fake names, unregistered voters or illegible. [ [http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4170340 Green Party candidates give up] ] The challenge follows Republican Senator Rick Santorum's drive to collect signatures to put Green candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot for the Senate. A challenge by popular Democratic candidate Bob Casey threatens to unseat Santorum. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/08/11/pa_green_party_candidates_withdraw/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Nation Green Party candidate withdraws] ]

Rogers continued to campaign, hopeful that a federal appeals court would rule favorably in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's signature requirement for third party candidates. [ [http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15911078&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6 Minor parties sue] ] ("See Pennsylvania United States Senate election, 2006 article for more details.")

* Democrat: Ed Rendell [ [http://www.rendellforgovernor.com Ed Rendell’s Campaign Website] ] -- incumbent Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Mayor of Philadelphia.

* Republican: Lynn Swann [ [http://www.swannforgovernor.com Lynn Swann’s Campaign Website] ] -- a retired Pittsburgh Steelers football Hall of Famer, a broadcaster, and a motivational speaker.

* Green Party: Marakay Rogers (Green Party), an attorney, liberal activist, and 2004 Green Party State Attorney General nominee. [ [http://www.gpop.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=78 Green Party] ]

* Constitution Party: Hagan Smith (Constitution Party), a building contractor, conservative activist and chair of the Butler County Constitution Party. [ [http://www.hagan4gov.com/index_001.htm Hagan For Governor site] ]

Not running or no longer running

*Jim Panyard -- the former president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturer's Association withdrew from the race in February 2006. His official statement cited poor fundraising and the lack of significant media attention among his reasons. [ [http://www.panyard4gov.com/news/index.php?fuseAction=story&archives=&ngID=9&nsID=92&PHPSESSID=d0b9d32a31c7d1c64efd1954a93daa1d Panyard site] ]

*Jeff Piccola -- the Majority Whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Piccola officially entered the race in 2005 but withdrew in January 2006. Early polling of showed that his chances of winning the State Committee endorsement were slim.

*William Scranton III -- a former Lieutenant Governor and the 1986 GOP nominee. He is also the son of former governor William Scranton. On 25 January 2006 Scranton fired his campaign manager Jim Seif when he referred to Swann as "the rich white guy in this campaign" on a Pennsylvania Cable Network call-in show. [ [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_417459.html Scranton fires campaign manager for calling Swann 'rich white guy' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ] ] Seif was attempting to portray Swann as the favorite of the GOP political establishment. Scranton withdrew from the race on February 7, 2006, stating that he had found that Lynn Swann was receiving "near unanimous backing of the state and national parties." [ [http://www.pacomeback.com/ PA Comeback site] ] [ [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_421634.html Scranton drops out of race for governor - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ] ]

*Russ Diamond [ [http://www.russdiamond.org Russ Diamond's Campaign Website] ] (Independent), one of three people declared "people of the year" by the "Philadelphia Inquirer", for his work in exposing the clandestine pay raise the General Assembly voted themselves at 2am just before adjournment in July 2005. His running mate would have been Tom Lingenfelter, a former GOP state committeman, conservative activist, and frequent candidate. Diamond ended his campaign due to an inability to meet the petition requirements to get on the ballot as an independent.

*Michael Morrill -- he is a political activist and was the Green Party's nominee for governor in 2002. Had he run as a Democrat, Morrill likely would have attempted to court support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party by attacking what he perceives as flaws in Governor Rendell's record on labor unions, civil liberties, and poverty alleviation. Morrill announced on February, 13, 2006, that he would not run, citing the "toll" his 2002 race took on him and his family. [http://www.morrillmajority.org Morrill Majority] ] [ [http://www.politicspa.com/pressreleasedetailed.asp?id=1189 Morrill release] ]

Factors in the election

In July 2005, a Zogby Poll showed Rendell with only a 47% to 41% lead over Lynn Swann. Some speculated that controversy over Act 72, proposed Medicaid cuts, and possibly even a legislative pay increase that was signed into law had reduced the Governor’s popularity.Fact|date=February 2007 Also, when compared to other polls, the six percent lead was an outlier. Rendell has led in other recent polls by significantly higher margins.

Following that poll, Rendell’s supporters pointed out that he has raised more money than his opponents, which they felt would help him spread his message. They also pointed out that no Pennsylvania governor had lost re-election since the 1950s, [until the PA Constitutional Convention of 1968, PA governors were limited to one consecutive term—therefore a correct statement would be "no PA governor has lost a bid for re-election since 1970"] and that, as a sitting governor, Rendell had all of the traditional advantages of an incumbent. [ [http://www.fandm.edu/x7706.xml Madonna analysis] ] [ [http://www.fandm.edu/politics.xml Franklin & Marshall College (Terry Madonna) Center for Politics & Public Affairs] ]

Swann hoped to perform strongly in the conservative "T" section of the state (the central and northern regions) and in his native western Pennsylvania area. On 7 February 2006 Swann served as master of ceremonies for the Pittsburgh Steelers's Super Bowl XL victory parade before 250,000 people. [ [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_421528.html A quarter-million thanks - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ] ] Swann canvassed for votes among tailgating voters in Philadelphia before the Steelers game against the Eagles. cite news
last = Ritter
first = Kara
coauthors =
title = Ex-Steeler looks to sway support of Eagles' fans
work = Philadelphia Inquirer
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = 2006-08
url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200608/ai_n16967992
accessdate = ]

At the time, Rendell had relatively low approval ratings outside of his native Southeastern Pennsylvania. Polls in early February showed Swann and Rendell in a statistical tie. [ [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_422413.html Rendell, Swann in dead heat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ] ]

However, Swann's momentum did not survive an effective barrage of advertising from Rendell in early spring and had trouble keeping up with Rendell's effective fundraising. [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06312/736519-178.stm Rendell cruises to 2nd term as governor ] ] Swann's focus on "reforming" Harrisburg never caught traction, possibly as a result of his vocal support for Chip Brightbill and Robert Jubelirer, two legislative leaders who were defeated in the May 2006 primary election. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/us/18repubs.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Brightbill&st=nyt&oref=slogin G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania - New York Times ] ]

Election results

Election box begin | title=2006 gubernatorial election, PennsylvaniaElection box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Ed Rendell (incumbent)
votes = 2,422,606
percentage = 60.4
change = +7.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Lynn Swann
votes = 1,591,503
percentage = 39.6
change = -4.8}Election box majority
votes = 831,103
percentage = 20.8
change = Election box turnout
votes = 4,014,109
percentage =
change = Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing = At 9:45PM, Fox News and CNN projected Ed Rendell the winner

Opinion polls

ee also

*Pennsylvania United States Senate election, 2006
*United States gubernatorial elections, 2006
*2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy

External links