Governor, 2006 Election
General
| Candidate | Gender | Running mate | Party | Votes | Percent | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Pawlenty Incumbent | Man | Carol Molnau (Woman) Incumbent | Republican | 1,028,568 | 46.69 | +0.96 |
| Mike Hatch | Man | Judi Dutcher (Man) | Democratic-Farmer-Labor | 1,007,460 | 45.73 | |
| Peter Hutchinson | Man | Maureen Reed (Woman) | Independence | 141,735 | 6.43 | |
| Ken Pentel | Man | Danene Provencher (Woman) | Green | 10,800 | 0.49 | |
| Walt Brown | Man | Wesley Nelson (Man) | Quit Raising Taxes | 9,649 | 0.44 | |
| Leslie Davis | Man | Gregory Soderberg (Man) | American Party of Minnesota | 3,776 | 0.17 |
Governor Pawlenty and Lieutenant Governor Molnau were reelected.
Hatch was an attorney from Minneapolis, former DFL state party chair, state Commerce Commissioner (1983-1989), DFL candidate for governor (1990, 1994), and state Attorney General (1999-2007); Dutcher was a former Republican-turned-DFL state Auditor (1995-2003) and president of the Minnesota Community Foundation (2003-2006) from Minnetonka.
Hutchinson was the former state Commissioner of Finance and superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools and was the co-founder of a consulting firm; Reed was a physician from Stillwater, former health company executive, and Regent at the University of Minnesota.
Pentel was a former grassroots organizer for Greenpeace from Minneapolis and Green Party gubernatorial nominee in 1998 and 2002; Provencher was a cleaning business small business owner from Mound who ran for the Mound City Council in 2002.
Brown was a businessman from Detroit Lakes.
Davis was an environmental activist from Minneapolis, Nutrition Rights Alliance gubernatorial nominee in 1994, Independence Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2000, and GOP candidate for governor in 2002; Soderberg was an environmentalist and author from Austin.
Related Reports
- Will Minnesota’s Competitive Gubernatorial Election Streak Continue in 2018? (August 24, 2017)
- Will Minnesota Have the Most Competitive Gubernatorial Race in the Nation for the 2nd Consecutive Election Cycle? (June 20, 2010)
- Will Minnesotans Elect a Plurality-Winning Governor for a 4th Straight Cycle? (June 6, 2010)
Sources
- Report of the State Canvassing Board, Office of Secretary of State, State of Minnesota, November 21, 2006 (p. 62-70).