2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2006 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Linda Lingle was the first Republican to be elected governor of Hawaii since 1959. Although 2006 was a strong election year for Democrats, Lingle won re-election by a landslide owing to an economic rebound in the state that occurred during her tenure after a shaky decade for the state economy during the 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican won a statewide election in Hawaii, as well as the only time in Hawaii history that a Republican governor was re-elected. Additionally, this alongside 1972 United States presidential election were the only two times Republicans won the state with more than 60% of the vote.

2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →

Nominee Linda Lingle Randy Iwase Party Republican Democratic Running mate Duke Aiona Malama Solomon Popular vote 215,313 121,717 Percentage 62.53% 35.35%

County results Lingle:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Linda Lingle Republican Elected Governor Linda Lingle Republican

Republican primary

Candidates

• Linda Lingle, incumbent governor
• George L. Berish, fellow of the Society of Actuaries
• Paul Manner, freelance news correspondent
• George G. Peabody, editor of the Molokai Advertiser-News

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda Lingle (incumbent)	31,275	97.42
	Republican	George Peabody	322	1.00
	Republican	George L. Berish	295	0.92
	Republican	Paul Manner	211	0.66
Total votes			32,103	100

Democratic primary

Candidate

• Randy Iwase, former state senator and former Honolulu city councilor
• William Aila, Wai'anae harbormaster
• Van Tanabe, former telecommunications executive

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Randy Iwase	119,058	66.43
	Democratic	William J. Aila, Jr.	43,845	24.46
	Democratic	Van K. Tanabe	16,317	9.10
Total votes			179,220	100

Green Party

• James Brewer Jr. - full-time political-economic educator and advocate for Hawaii's employee families

Libertarian Party

• Ozell Daniel, comedian

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[2]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[3]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[4]	Safe R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics[5]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Results

Hawaii gubernatorial election, 2006^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Linda Lingle (incumbent)	215,313	62.53%	+10.98%
	Democratic	Randy Iwase	121,717	35.35%	−11.66%
	Green	James Brewer, Jr.	5,435	1.58%
	Libertarian	Ozell Daniel	1,850	0.54%	+0.18%
Majority			93,596	27.18%	+22.64%
Turnout			344,315
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Kauai (largest community: Kapa'a)