2006 Iowa gubernatorial election

The 2006 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. The incumbent governor, Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, had served two terms and decided not to seek a third term. In the election, Chet Culver defeated Jim Nussle to win the governorship, by a margin of 54% to 44%.^[1]

2006 Iowa gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 7, 2006 2010 →

Nominee Chet Culver Jim Nussle Party Democratic Republican Running mate Patty Judge Bob Vander Plaats Popular vote 569,021 467,425 Percentage 54.02% 44.38%

County results Congressional district results Culver:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Nussle:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Tom Vilsack Democratic Elected Governor Chet Culver Democratic

As of 2025^[update], this was the last time a Democrat won the governorship of Iowa. This election marks the first time Democrats won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state since 1966, and the only time Democrats have ever done so for four-year terms.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Won primary

• Chet Culver, Iowa Secretary of State (1999–present), son of former United States Senator John Culver
  • Running mate: Patty Judge, Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa (1999–present) and former State Senator

Defeated in primary

• Mike Blouin, former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development (2003–2005), former U.S. Representative for IA-02 (1975–1979), and 1st director of the Information Security Oversight Office (1979–1980)
  • Running mate: Andrea McGuire, physician
• Ed Fallon, Iowa State Representative (1993–present)
• Sal Mohamed, engineer^[2] and 2004 Democratic candidate for Congress

Declined to run

• Sally Pederson, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (1999–present)^[3]

Results

Primary results by county:

Culver

•   Culver—71-80%
•   Culver—61-70%
•   Culver—51-60%
•   Culver—41-50%
•   Culver—31-40%

Blouin

•   Blouin—51-60%
•   Blouin—41-50%
•   Blouin—31-40%

Fallon

•   Fallon—61-70%
•   Fallon—51-60%
•   Fallon—41-50%

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chet Culver	58,131	39.08
	Democratic	Mike Blouin	50,728	34.10
	Democratic	Ed Fallon	38,253	25.72
	Democratic	Sal Mohamed	1,545	1.04
	Democratic	Write-ins	94	0.06
Total votes			148,751	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Nussle, U.S. Representative

Withdrew

• Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, to become Nussle's running-mate for the general election

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Nussle	73,975	100.00
Total votes			73,975	100

Independents

Green

• Wendy Barth, peace activist and software engineer from Cedar Rapids

Libertarian

• Kevin Litten, pharmacist from Cedar Rapids

General election

The Democratic nominee, Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, selected Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge as his running mate. Judge had previously run for the Democratic nomination for Governor before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor. The Republican nominee, U.S. Congressman Jim Nussle, selected Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats as his running mate. Vander Plaats, like Judge, had previously run for his party's nomination before dropping out to run for Lieutenant Governor.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[5]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[6]	Lean D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[7]	Lean D	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics[8]	Lean D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Chet Culver (D)	Jim Nussle (R)
Des Moines Register[9]	November 3, 2006	52%	43%
Rasmussen[10]	October 27, 2006	49%	45%
Research 2000[11]	October 17, 2006	49%	44%
Des Moines Register[12]	October 14, 2006	46%	39%
Rasmussen[13]	October 5, 2006	42%	42%
Des Moines Register[14]	September 17, 2006	44%	44%
Research 2000[15]	September 14, 2006	48%	43%
Zogby/WSJ[16]	September 11, 2006	43%	46%
Rasmussen[17]	September 1, 2006	42%	40%
Zogby/WSJ[16]	August 28, 2006	48%	45%
Rasmussen[18]	August 3, 2006	41%	38%
Zogby/WSJ[16]	July 24, 2006	45%	47%
Zogby/WSJ[16]	June 21, 2006	46%	47%
Research 2000[19]	May 22–24, 2006	49%	41%
Rasmussen[20]	May 2, 2006	46%	40%
Rasmussen[21]	April 5, 2006	40%	38%
Rasmussen[22]	February 15, 2006	41%	40%
Rasmussen[23]	January 12, 2006	40%	40%
Rasmussen[24]	November 28, 2005	41%	38%

Endorsements

Chet Culver (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate^[25]

Results

Iowa gubernatorial election, 2006^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chet Culver	569,021	54.02%	+1.33%
	Republican	Jim Nussle	467,425	44.38%	−0.13%
	Green	Wendy Barth	7,850	0.75%	−0.68%
	Libertarian	Kevin Litten	5,735	0.54%	−0.74%
	Socialist Workers	Mary Martin	1,974	0.19%
	Write-ins		1,250	0.12%
Majority			101,596	9.65%	+1.48%
Turnout			1,053,255
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Audubon (Largest city: Audubon)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carroll)
• Cherokee (Largest city: Cherokee)
• Dallas (Largest city: Waukee)
• Delaware (Largest city: Manchester)
• Guthrie (Largest city: Guthrie Center)
• Greene (largest city: Jefferson)
• Monona (Largest city: Onawa)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Allamakee (Largest city: Waukon)
• Hancock (Largest city: Garner)
• Iowa (Largest city: Williamsburg)
• Jefferson (Largest city: Fairfield)
• Madison (Largest city: Winterset)
• Winneshiek (Largest city: Decorah)
• Woodbury (Largest city: Sioux City)
• Louisa (largest city: Wapello)
• Sac (largest city: Sac City)
• Calhoun (Largest city: Rockwell City)

By congressional district

Culver won four of five congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.^[27]

District	Culver	Nussle	Representative
1st	58%	41%	Jim Nussle (109th Congress)
			Bruce Braley (110th Congress)
2nd	60%	38%	Jim Leach (109th Congress)
			Dave Loebsack (110th Congress)
3rd	54%	44%	Leonard Boswell
4th	54%	45%	Tom Latham
5th	43%	55%	Steve King

See also

• 2006 United States gubernatorial elections
• State of Iowa
• Governors of Iowa