The 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Huckabee was barred from seeking candidacy due to term limits set by the State Constitution in 1998, stating that the governor may only serve two terms in their lifetime. Democratic State Attorney General Mike Beebe defeated Republican former U.S. representative Asa Hutchinson by a wide margin. This was the first open seat election since 1978. Hutchinson later served as Arkansas’ Governor from 2015 to 2023.
Democratic primary
Nominee
- Mike Beebe, Arkansas Attorney General
Republican primary
thumb|Hutchinson campaigning for governor in 2006
Candidates
- Asa Hutchinson, former administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, former U.S. representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district (1997–2001)
Withdrew
- Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, Lieutenant Governor (withdrew July 20, 2005 following blood cancer diagnosis; died July 16, 2006)
Independents
Declared
- Rod Bryan, bass player for Ho-Hum and owner of Anthro-Pop Records
General election
Debates
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election debates
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Host
! scope="col" | Moderator
! scope="col" | Link
! scope="col"| <small>Republican</small>
! scope="col"| <small>Democratic</small>
|-
! colspan="5" rowspan="2" |Key:<br /> <small>Participant </small> <small>Absent </small> <small>Not invited </small> <small>Invited Withdrawn</small>
! scope="col" style="background:"|
! scope="col" style="background:"|
|-
! scope="col" | Asa Hutchinson
! scope="col" | Mike Beebe
|-
!1
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | Oct. 4, 2006
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | KEZA<br />KHBS<br />KHOG<br />Morning News of Northwest Arkansas
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | Craig Cannon
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | C-SPAN
|
|
|-
!2
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | Oct. 17, 2006
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | KARK-TV<br />William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | Bob Clausen
| style="white-space:nowrap;" | C-SPAN
|
|
|}
Predictions
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Source
! Ranking
! As of
|-
| align=left | The Cook Political Report
|
| November 6, 2006
|-
| align=left | Inside Elections
|
| November 2, 2006
|-
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball
|
| November 6, 2006
|-
| align=left | Real Clear Politics
|
| November 6, 2006
|}
Polling
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign= bottom
! style="width:110px;"| Poll source
! style="width:160px;"| Date(s)<br />administered
! class=small | Sample<br />size
! <small>Margin of</small><br />error
! style="width:100px;"| Asa<br />
! style="width:100px;"| Mike<br />Beebe (D)
! Other
! Undecided
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| November 3–5, 2006
| align=center| 549
| align=center| ± 4.3%
| align=center| 42%
| align=center| 51%
| align=center| 4%
| align=center| 3%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| October 22–24, 2006
| align=center| 572
| align=center| ± 4.1%
| align=center| 38%
| align=center| 58%
| align=center| 3%
| align=center| 1%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| September 25–26, 2006
| align=center| 493
| align=center| ± 4.5%
| align=center| 40%
| align=center| 55%
| align=center| 3%
| align=center| 2%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| August 27–29, 2006
| align=center| 538
| align=center| ± 4.3%
| align=center| 38%
| align=center| 51%
| align=center| 0%
| align=center| 7%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| July 14–16, 2006
| align=center| 509
| align=center| ± 4.4%
| align=center| 38%
| align=center| 48%
| align=center| —
| align=center| 13%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| January 22–23, 2006
| align=center| 506
| align=center| ± 4.4%
| align=center| 45%
| align=center| 46%
| align=center| 4%
| align=center| 5%
|-
|SurveyUSA
| align=center| December 3–5, 2005
| align=center| 684
| align=center| ± 3.8%
| align=center| 44%
| align=center| 49%
| align=center| 4%
| align=center| 3%
|-
|}
Endorsements
Results
thumb|right|300px|Mike Beebe is inaugurated as governor of Arkansas.
By county
{|width="60%" class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" |County
! colspan="2" |Mike Beebe<br />Democratic
! colspan="2" |Asa Hutchinson<br />Republican
! colspan="2" |Rod Bryan<br />Independent
! colspan="2" |Various candidates<br />Other parties
! colspan="2" |Margin
! rowspan="2" |Total
|-
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |#
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |%
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |#
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |%
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |#
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |%
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |#
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |%
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |#
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-type="number" |%
|- style=text-align:center;
||Arkansas
||3,898
||68.04%
||1,639
||28.61%
||113
||1.97%
||79
||1.38%
||2,259
||39.43%
||5,729
|- style=text-align:center;
||Ashley
||3,550
||63.80%
||1,737
||31.22%
||165
||2.97%
||112
||2.01%
||1,813
||32.58%
||5,564
|- style=text-align:center;
||Baxter
||6,248
||46.75%
||6,440
||48.19%
||296
||2.21%
||381
||2.85%
||−192
||−1.44%
||13,365
|- style=text-align:center;
||Benton
||18,811
||38.66%
||28,608
||58.79%
||671
||1.38%
||569
||1.17%
||−9,797
||−20.13%
||48,659
|- style=text-align:center;
||Boone
||4,362
||40.96%
||5,784
||54.31%
||263
||2.47%
||240
||2.25%
||−1,422
||−13.35%
||10,649
|- style=text-align:center;
||Bradley
||1,776
||64.30%
||862
||31.21%
||42
||1.52%
||82
||2.97%
||914
||33.09%
||2,762
|- style=text-align:center;
||Calhoun
||1,001
||57.07%
||635
||36.20%
||67
||3.82%
||51
||2.91%
||366
||20.87%
||1,754
|- style=text-align:center;
||Carroll
||3,881
||47.08%
||3,978
||48.26%
||134
||1.63%
||250
||3.03%
||−97
||−1.18%
||8,243
|- style=text-align:center;
||Chicot
||2,570
||74.71%
||791
||22.99%
||51
||1.48%
||28
||0.81%
||1,779
||51.72%
||3,440
|- style=text-align:center;
||Clark
||4,162
||64.57%
||2,024
||31.40%
||119
||1.85%
||141
||2.19%
||2,138
||33.17%
||6,446
|- style=text-align:center;
||Clay
||3,010
||68.77%
||1,137
||25.98%
||142
||3.24%
||88
||2.01%
||1,873
||42.79%
||4,377
|- style=text-align:center;
||Cleburne
||4,881
||50.75%
||4,370
||45.44%
||217
||2.26%
||150
||1.56%
||511
||5.31%
||9,618
|- style=text-align:center;
||Cleveland
||1,450
||56.49%
||982
||38.25%
||76
||2.96%
||59
||2.30%
||468
||18.23%
||2,567
|- style=text-align:center;
||Columbia
||3,379
||55.93%
||2,549
||42.20%
||68
||1.13%
||45
||0.74%
||830
||13.74%
||6,041
|- style=text-align:center;
||Conway
||4,125
||62.18%
||2,268
||34.19%
||130
||1.96%
||111
||1.67%
||1,857
||27.99%
||6,634
|- style=text-align:center;
||Craighead
||12,753
||61.09%
||7,696
||36.87%
||267
||1.28%
||160
||0.77%
||5,057
||24.22%
||20,876
|- style=text-align:center;
||Crawford
||7,249
||45.33%
||8,139
||50.89%
||344
||2.15%
||260
||1.63%
||−890
||−5.57%
||15,992
|- style=text-align:center;
||Crittenden
||13,246
||71.23%
||5,023
||27.01%
||148
||0.80%
||180
||0.97%
||8,223
||44.22%
||18,597
|- style=text-align:center;
||Cross
||3,331
||61.74%
||1,819
||33.72%
||138
||2.56%
||107
||1.98%
||1,512
||28.03%
||5,395
|- style=text-align:center;
||Dallas
||1,774
||62.89%
||975
||34.56%
||36
||1.28%
||36
||1.28%
||799
||28.32%
||2,821
|- style=text-align:center;
||Desha
||2,516
||75.76%
||703
||21.17%
||58
||1.75%
||44
||1.32%
||1,813
||54.59%
||3,321
|- style=text-align:center;
||Drew
||2,556
||61.89%
||1,447
||35.04%
||72
||1.74%
||55
||1.33%
||1,109
||26.85%
||4,130
|- style=text-align:center;
||Faulkner
||12,419
||49.91%
||11,506
||46.24%
||493
||1.98%
||465
||1.87%
||913
||3.67%
||24,883
|- style=text-align:center;
||Franklin
||2,908
||52.62%
||2,452
||44.37%
||99
||1.79%
||67
||1.21%
||456
||8.25%
||5,526
|- style=text-align:center;
||Fulton
||2,002
||59.49%
||1,199
||35.63%
||105
||3.12%
||59
||1.75%
||803
||23.86%
||3,365
|- style=text-align:center;
||Garland
||15,482
||52.34%
||12,530
||42.36%
||837
||2.83%
||733
||2.48%
||2,952
||9.98%
||29,582
|- style=text-align:center;
||Grant
||2,798
||53.98%
||2,186
||42.18%
||134
||2.59%
||65
||1.25%
||612
||11.81%
||5,183
|- style=text-align:center;
||Greene
||5,724
||62.20%
||3,283
||35.67%
||117
||1.27%
||79
||0.86%
||2,441
||26.52%
||9,203
|- style=text-align:center;
||Hempstead
||3,212
||65.60%
||1,566
||31.99%
||65
||1.33%
||53
||1.08%
||1,646
||33.62%
||4,896
|- style=text-align:center;
||Hot Spring
||5,312
||61.42%
||3,012
||34.83%
||184
||2.13%
||140
||1.62%
||2,300
||26.60%
||8,648
|- style=text-align:center;
||Howard
||2,090
||64.21%
||1,057
||32.47%
||65
||2.00%
||43
||1.32%
||1,033
||31.74%
||3,255
|- style=text-align:center;
||Independence
||5,608
||56.07%
||3,934
||39.33%
||271
||2.71%
||189
||1.89%
||1,674
||16.74%
||10,002
|- style=text-align:center;
||Izard
||2,412
||58.05%
||1,534
||36.92%
||113
||2.72%
||96
||2.31%
||878
||21.13%
||4,155
|- style=text-align:center;
||Jackson
||3,189
||70.09%
||1,036
||22.77%
||209
||4.59%
||116
||2.55%
||2,153
||47.32%
||4,550
|- style=text-align:center;
||Jefferson
||14,659
||72.46%
||4,955
||24.49%
||306
||1.51%
||311
||1.54%
||9,704
||47.97%
||20,231
|- style=text-align:center;
||Johnson
||3,372
||54.97%
||2,410
||39.29%
||246
||4.01%
||106
||1.73%
||962
||15.68%
||6,134
|- style=text-align:center;
||Lafayette
||1,684
||66.61%
||741
||29.31%
||69
||2.73%
||34
||1.34%
||943
||37.30%
||2,528
|- style=text-align:center;
||Lawrence
||3,227
||66.73%
||1,400
||28.95%
||139
||2.87%
||70
||1.45%
||1,827
||37.78%
||4,836
|- style=text-align:center;
||Lee
||2,233
||76.13%
||621
||21.17%
||29
||0.99%
||50
||1.70%
||1,612
||54.96%
||2,933
|- style=text-align:center;
||Lincoln
||1,960
||69.83%
||757
||26.97%
||52
||1.85%
||38
||1.35%
||1,203
||42.86%
||2,807
|- style=text-align:center;
||Little River
||2,552
||67.57%
||1,012
||26.79%
||119
||3.15%
||94
||2.49%
||1,540
||40.77%
||3,777
|- style=text-align:center;
||Logan
||3,525
||53.90%
||2,794
||42.72%
||131
||2.00%
||90
||1.38%
||731
||11.18%
||6,540
|- style=text-align:center;
||Lonoke
||7,768
||48.35%
||7,792
||48.50%
||282
||1.76%
||223
||1.39%
||−24
||−0.15%
||16,065
|- style=text-align:center;
||Madison
||2,587
||47.88%
||2,650
||49.05%
||100
||1.85%
||66
||1.22%
||−63
||−1.17%
||5,403
|- style=text-align:center;
||Marion
||2,810
||46.45%
||2,858
||47.25%
||218
||3.60%
||163
||2.69%
||−48
||−0.79%
||6,049
|- style=text-align:center;
||Miller
||5,466
||56.06%
||3,933
||40.33%
||259
||2.66%
||93
||0.95%
||1,533
||15.72%
||9,751
|- style=text-align:center;
||Mississippi
||7,119
||69.96%
||2,677
||26.31%
||154
||1.51%
||226
||2.22%
||4,442
||43.65%
||10,176
|- style=text-align:center;
||Monroe
||1,914
||69.42%
||776
||28.15%
||36
||1.31%
||31
||1.12%
||1,138
||41.28%
||2,757
|- style=text-align:center;
||Montgomery
||1,526
||52.84%
||1,207
||41.79%
||74
||2.56%
||81
||2.80%
||319
||11.05%
||2,888
|- style=text-align:center;
||Nevada
||1,694
||64.63%
||811
||30.94%
||67
||2.56%
||49
||1.87%
||883
||33.69%
||2,621
|- style=text-align:center;
||Newton
||1,519
||43.30%
||1,804
||51.43%
||88
||2.51%
||97
||2.77%
||−285
||−8.12%
||3,508
|- style=text-align:center;
||Ouachita
||4,665
||62.30%
||2,647
||35.35%
||90
||1.20%
||86
||1.15%
||2,018
||26.95%
||7,488
|- style=text-align:center;
||Perry
||1,918
||52.63%
||1,456
||39.96%
||145
||3.98%
||125
||3.43%
||462
||12.68%
||3,644
|- style=text-align:center;
||Phillips
||4,934
||71.34%
||1,563
||22.60%
||160
||2.31%
||259
||3.74%
||3,371
||48.74%
||6,916
|- style=text-align:center;
||Pike
||1,770
||55.61%
||1,317
||41.38%
||49
||1.54%
||47
||1.48%
||453
||14.23%
||3,183
|- style=text-align:center;
||Poinsett
||4,346
||69.45%
||1,793
||28.65%
||71
||1.13%
||48
||0.77%
||2,553
||40.80%
||6,258
|- style=text-align:center;
||Polk
||2,465
||44.03%
||2,831
||50.56%
||164
||2.93%
||139
||2.48%
||−366
||−6.54%
||5,599
|- style=text-align:center;
||Pope
||6,847
||44.67%
||7,778
||50.74%
||348
||2.27%
||355
||2.32%
||−931
||−6.07%
||15,328
|- style=text-align:center;
||Prairie
||1,901
||66.03%
||804
||27.93%
||105
||3.65%
||69
||2.40%
||1,097
||38.10%
||2,879
|- style=text-align:center;
||Pulaski
||66,821
||60.79%
||38,653
||35.16%
||2,521
||2.29%
||1,933
||1.76%
||28,168
||25.62%
||109,928
|- style=text-align:center;
||Randolph
||2,894
||62.65%
||1,403
||30.37%
||213
||4.61%
||109
||2.36%
||1,491
||32.28%
||4,619
|- style=text-align:center;
||Saline
||14,754
||46.17%
||15,931
||49.86%
||677
||2.12%
||592
||1.85%
||−1,177
||−3.68%
||31,954
|- style=text-align:center;
||Scott
||1,407
||50.72%
||1,230
||44.34%
||80
||2.88%
||57
||2.05%
||177
||6.38%
||2,774
|- style=text-align:center;
||Searcy
||1,296
||41.50%
||1,629
||52.16%
||107
||3.43%
||91
||2.91%
||−333
||−10.66%
||3,123
|- style=text-align:center;
||Sebastian
||14,971
||47.11%
||16,142
||50.80%
||377
||1.19%
||288
||0.91%
||−1,171
||−3.68%
||31,778
|- style=text-align:center;
||Sevier
||1,959
||64.82%
||956
||31.63%
||57
||1.89%
||50
||1.65%
||1,003
||33.19%
||3,022
|- style=text-align:center;
||Sharp
||3,159
||56.55%
||2,021
||36.18%
||321
||5.75%
||85
||1.52%
||1,138
||20.37%
||5,586
|- style=text-align:center;
||St. Francis
||4,939
||71.53%
||1,769
||25.62%
||110
||1.59%
||87
||1.26%
||3,170
||45.91%
||6,905
|- style=text-align:center;
||Stone
||2,270
||50.87%
||1,956
||43.84%
||130
||2.91%
||106
||2.38%
||314
||7.04%
||4,462
|- style=text-align:center;
||Union
||6,057
||52.95%
||5,222
||45.65%
||96
||0.84%
||64
||0.56%
||835
||7.30%
||11,439
|- style=text-align:center;
||Van Buren
||3,007
||54.45%
||2,202
||39.87%
||158
||2.86%
||156
||2.82%
||805
||14.58%
||5,523
|- style=text-align:center;
||Washington
||22,836
||50.70%
||20,930
||46.47%
||538
||1.19%
||733
||1.63%
||1,906
||4.23%
||45,037
|- style=text-align:center;
||White
||11,670
||55.59%
||8,653
||41.22%
||365
||1.74%
||305
||1.45%
||3,017
||14.37%
||20,993
|- style=text-align:center;
||Woodruff
||1,907
||76.40%
||473
||18.95%
||40
||1.60%
||76
||3.04%
||1,434
||57.45%
||2,496
|- style=text-align:center;
||Yell
||2,672
||59.19%
||1,582
||35.05%
||167
||3.70%
||93
||2.06%
||1,090
||24.15%
||4,514
|-
!TOTALS!!430,765!!55.61%!!315,040!!40.67%!!15,767!!2.04%!!13,108!!1.69%!!115,725!!14.94%!!774,680
|}
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Arkansas (Largest city: Stuttgart)
- Calhoun (Largest city: Hampton)
- Cleburne (Largest city: Heber Springs)
- Cleveland (Largest city: Rison)
- Columbia (Largest city: Magnolia)
- Franklin (Largest city: Ozark)
- Garland (Largest city: Hot Springs)
- Grant (Largest city: Sheridan)
- Howard (Largest city: Nashville)
- Independence (Largest city: Batesville)
- Johnson (Largest city: Clarksville)
- Logan (Largest city: Booneville)
- Miller (Largest city: Texarkana)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Ida)
- Perry (Largest city: Perryville)
- Pike (Largest city: Glenwood)
- Prairie (Largest city: Des Arc)
- Scott (Largest city: Waldron)
- Sharp (Largest city: Cherokee Village)
- Stone (Largest city: Mountain View)
- Union (Largest city: El Dorado)
- Van Buren (Largest city: Clinton)
- Washington (Largest city: Fayetteville)
- White (Largest city: Searcy)
- Yell (Largest city: Dardanelle)
- Cross (Largest city: Wynne)
- Faulkner (Largest city: Conway)
- Drew (Largest city: Monticello)
External links
Official campaign website (Archived)
- Mike Beebe for Governor (D)
- Asa Hutchinson for Governor (R)
- Rod Bryan for Governor (I)