2006 Ohio gubernatorial election

2006 Ohio gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →

Nominee Ted Strickland Ken Blackwell Party Democratic Republican Running mate Lee Fisher Tom Raga Popular vote 2,435,384 1,474,285 Percentage 60.54% 36.65%

County results Congressional district results Strickland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Blackwell:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Bob Taft Republican Elected Governor Ted Strickland Democratic

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v t e

The 2006 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, and was a race for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. Incumbent Governor Bob Taft could not run for re-election, because Ohio governors are limited to two consecutive terms in office. The election was held concurrently with a U.S. Senate election. The general election for governor pitted Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican nominee, against United States Congressman Ted Strickland of Ohio's 6th congressional district, the Democratic nominee. Their running mates were former Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher on the Democratic ticket and State Representative Tom Raga on the Republican ticket.

In the end, the contest was not close, and Strickland captured more than 60 percent of the vote, giving him a solid 24-point margin of victory. Strickland was declared the winner right at 7:30 P.M. EST time when the polls closed in Ohio. Blackwell called Strickland and conceded defeat at 8:45 P.M. EST.^[1]

Strickland won most areas of the state. In particular, he trounced Blackwell in eastern Ohio, with Blackwell only carrying one county in this region (Holmes). Blackwell did well in the Cincinnati suburbs, although he only won Hamilton County, which encompasses the City of Cincinnati, by just about 2,000 votes. He did win some rural western counties as well, but Strickland defeated Blackwell in Cuyahoga County and Franklin County, home of Cleveland and Columbus respectively. Strickland also performed strongly in the Rust Belt area from Cleveland all the way to Toledo, as well as in the Akron-Youngstown Area.

This would turn out to be one of the most expensive gubernatorial elections in Ohio's history. As of 2024^[update], this is the last time that a Democrat was elected Governor of Ohio.