United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2006, in 36 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the midterm elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

Democrats won open Republican-held governorships in Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio; and they defeated Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich in Maryland while retaining all of their seats, including their lone open seat in Iowa. Meanwhile, Republicans held open seats in Florida, Idaho, and Nevada, as well as Alaska, where incumbent governor Frank Murkowski was defeated in the primary. Voters in the United States territories of Guam (then-Republican) and the United States Virgin Islands (then-Democratic, but term-limited) also chose their governors and voters elected a new mayor for the District of Columbia, the District's chief executive.

As part of the 2006 Democratic sweep, Democrats did not lose a single incumbent or open seat to the Republicans in any congressional or gubernatorial contest. The results of the 2006 elections gave Republicans 22 governors to the Democrats' 28, a reversal of the numbers held by the respective parties prior to the elections. Republicans held the majority of governorships from 1995 until 2007.

As of , this election marked the last time that the Democratic Party won gubernatorial elections in Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, or Wyoming. This is also the very last gubernatorial election cycle in which the Republican Party won governorships in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Rhode Island to date.

Election ratings

State Incumbent Lastrace Sabato Rothenberg Cook RCP Result Alabama 49.17% R Riley57.45% R Alaska 55.85% R Palin48.33% R Arizona 46.19% D Napolitano62.58% D Arkansas 53.02% R Beebe55.61% D (flip) California 48.58% R Schwarzenegger55.88% R Colorado 62.62% R Ritter56.99 D (flip) Connecticut 56.10% R Rell63.21% R Florida 56.01% R Crist52.20% Georgia 51.42% R Perdue57.95 R Hawaii 51.56% R Lingle62.53% R Idaho 56.28% R Otter52.67 R Illinois 52.19% D Blagojevich49.79% D Iowa 52.69% D Culver54.02% D Kansas 52.87% D Sebelius57.90% D Maine 47.1% D Baldacci38.11% D Maryland 51.55% R O'Malley52.69% D (flip) Massachusetts 49.18% R Patrick55.03% D (flip) Michigan 51.42% D Granholm56.36% D Minnesota 44.37% R Pawlenty46.69% R Nebraska 68.68% R Heineman73.40% R Nevada 68.24% R Gibbons47.93% R New Hampshire 51.02% D Lynch74.01% D New Mexico 55.49% D Richardson68.82% D New York 49.40% R Spitzer65.70% D (flip) Ohio 57.76% R Strickland60.54% D (flip) Oklahoma 43.27% D Henry66.50% D Oregon 49.03% D Kulongoski50.73% D Pennsylvania 53.41% D Rendell60.36% D Rhode Island 54.76% R Carcieri51.01% R South Carolina 52.85% R Sanford55.12% R South Dakota 56.77% R Rounds61.69% R Tennessee 50.65% D Bredesen68.60% D Texas 57.81% R Perry39.03% R Vermont 58.70% R Douglas56.36% R Wisconsin 45.09% D Doyle52.70% D Wyoming 49.96% D Freudenthal69.99 D

Race summary States State Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates Alabama Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Alaska Republican 2002 Incumbent lost renomination.New governor elected.Republican hold. Arizona Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Arkansas Republican 1996 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic gain. California Republican 2003 Incumbent re-elected. Colorado Republican 1998 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Connecticut Republican 2004 Incumbent elected to full term. Florida Republican 1998 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican hold. Georgia Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Hawaii Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Idaho Republican 2006 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Republican hold. Illinois Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Iowa Democratic 1998 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic hold. Kansas Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Maine Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Maryland Republican 2002 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Massachusetts Republican 2002 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Michigan Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Minnesota Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Nebraska Republican 2005 Incumbent elected to full term. Nevada Republican 1998 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican hold. New Hampshire Democratic 2004 Incumbent re-elected. New Mexico Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. New York Republican 1994 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Ohio Republican 1998 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Oklahoma Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Oregon Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Pennsylvania Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Rhode Island Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. South Carolina Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. South Dakota Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Tennessee Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Texas Republican 2000 Incumbent re-elected. Vermont Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected. Wyoming Democratic 2002 Incumbent re-elected.

Territories and federal district Territory Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates District of Columbia Democratic 1998 Incumbent retired.New mayor elected.Democratic hold. Guam Republican 2002 Incumbent re-elected. U.S. Virgin Islands Democratic 1998 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic hold.

Closest races States where the margin of victory was under 5%: Minnesota, 1.0% Rhode Island, 2.0% Guam, 2.3% Nevada, 4.0%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%: Maryland, 6.5% Florida, 7.1% Alaska, 7.4% Wisconsin, 7.5% Maine, 7.7% Oregon, 8.1% Idaho, 8.6% Texas, 9.2% Iowa, 9.4%

Red denotes states won by Republicans. Blue denotes states won by Democrats.

Alabama Incumbent Republican Bob Riley defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley. Riley garnered 21% of African Americans' votes.

Alaska

Governor Frank Murkowski, suffering poor approval ratings, was not favored to win renomination. An August 8 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that going into the primary election his approval rating was at 27%, while his disapproval rating stood at 72%. Former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and former state Railroad Commissioner John Binkley challenged Murkowski in the Republican primary. Former governor Tony Knowles was widely considered the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. In the primary held on August 22, Palin won the Republican nomination for governor with 51.1% of the vote, Binkley received 29.6%, and Murkowski received just 18.9% of the vote. Knowles won the Democratic nomination with 68.6% of the vote; state representative Eric Croft, who received 23.1% of the vote, was his nearest competitor.

Palin campaigned on a clean government platform in a state with a history of corruption. An October 15 CRG Research poll had the candidates tied at 43%. An October 28 Rasmussen Reports poll showed Palin leading Knowles by a single percentage point.

Republican nominee Sarah Palin was elected with 48.3% of the vote, a plurality.

Arizona Incumbent Democratic governor Janet Napolitano was re-elected in a landslide. Napolitano's widespread popularity contributed to her easy re-election; her general approval rating in October 2006, one month before the election, was at 58%.

Arkansas

Governor Mike Huckabee was term-limited. The Republican Party nominated Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman, U.S. Attorney, DEA head, and Undersecretary of Homeland Security. The Democratic nominee was Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe. Beebe's campaign centered on what his campaign called his "Believe in Arkansas Plan", which outlined his plans for improving access to affordable healthcare, improving education, and stimulating economic development and job growth. Beebe led in most statewide polls, although his margin of victory in those polls varied wildly. Just days before the election, a Rasmussen Reports poll showed Beebe winning by just 8%, while a SurveyUSA poll showed him winning by 20%.

Democratic nominee Mike Beebe was elected with about 55.6% of the vote.

California

Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 2003 recall election and replaced Gray Davis. Despite his failed special election and budget cuts, Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to be ahead in the polls against Phil Angelides. Schwarzenegger's aggressive push for environment-friendly legislation, his support for stem cell research, gay rights and opposition to sending the National Guard to the border has made him very popular among the voters. Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected.

Colorado

The retirement of term-limited Governor Bill Owens revealed divisions among the state's Republicans. Republican congressman Bob Beauprez, widely regarded as a conservative, was attacked by his primary opponent, former University of Denver President Marc Holtzman for compromising with Democrats in Congress. Beauprez became the nominee when Holtzman failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the negative attacks they exchanged damaged Beauprez's campaign. The Democratic nominee was former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, an anti-abortion Catholic and a political centrist who could not easily be portrayed as a liberal. Ritter did, however, support Referendum I and oppose Amendment 43; conversely, the public defeated the former and passed the latter. Ritter's campaign was boosted when he was endorsed by a group of Larimer County Republicans. During the period of January through August, Ritter raised almost twice as much as Beauprez. According to an October 16 Zogby poll, Ritter led Beauprez 47% to 45%. An October 22 SurveyUSA poll showed Ritter leading Beauprez by a larger margin, 56% to 38%. Similarly, an October 22 Rasmussen Reports poll showed Ritter leading Beauprez, 51% to 39%.

Democratic nominee Bill Ritter was elected with 57.0% of the vote.

Connecticut Incumbent Republican Jodi Rell became governor when John G. Rowland resigned on corruption charges in 2004. Rell had an approval rating of 70% as of October 19, 2006, and polls showed her leading the Democratic nominee, New Haven mayor John DeStefano by a near 30-point margin. As expected, she won the election to a full term in a landslide. DeStefano defeated Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy in the Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial primary on August 8.

Florida

Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, a moderate, won the Republican primary with 64%, defeating the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Tom Gallagher, who received only 34%. Congressman Jim Davis of Tampa won the Democratic primary with 47% of the vote, defeating State Senator Rod Smith of Alachua, who received 41% of the vote. In addition to Crist and Davis, Reform Party nominee Max Linn also appeared on the ballot in the general election.

Crist came out of the September 12 primary with momentum, but as the election drew closer, polls began to show a more competitive race. An October 23 Quinnipiac poll October 23 showed Crist's lead down to 2%. However, an October 26 Rasmussen Reports poll had Crist leading Davis 52% to 41%.

Republican nominee Charlie Crist was elected with 52.2% of the vote.

Georgia