2006 Connecticut gubernatorial election

2006 Connecticut gubernatorial election
	November 7, 2006
Turnout	59.87% ( 3.36%)
	Rell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; DeStefano: 50–60% 60–70%
Governor before election; Jodi Rell; Republican	Elected Governor ; Jodi Rell; Republican

The 2006 Connecticut gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. 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,^[2] 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. As of 2025, this is the last time a Republican and woman was elected Governor of Connecticut, and the last time any gubernatorial candidate won every county in the state to date.

Republican primary

Candidates

Jodi Rell, incumbent governor

Running mate: Michael Fedele, State Representative

Results

Governor Rell was unopposed for renomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

John DeStefano, Jr., Mayor of New Haven

Running mate: Mary Glassman, Simsbury First Selectman

Dannel Malloy, Mayor of Stamford

Declined

Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Attorney General
Chris Dodd, United States Senator
Susan Bysiewicz, Connecticut Secretary of State

Results

Convention

2006 gubernatorial election, Connecticut
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dannel Malloy	799	50.13
	Democratic	John DeStefano Jr.	795	49.87

Primary

2006 gubernatorial election, Connecticut
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John DeStefano Jr.	135,431	50.78
	Democratic	Dannel Malloy	131,258	49.22

Independents and third parties

Green Party

Cliff Thornton, retired businessman; drug policy reform advocate; U.S. Army veteran^[3]

Concerned Citizens Party

Joseph A. Zdonczyk, retired businessman; U.S. Army veteran; Concerned Citizens Party founder^[4]

Independent

John M. Joy (write-in candidate)^[5]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[6]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[7]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[8]	Safe R	November 2, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[9]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	John DeStefano (D)	Jodi Rell (R)
Rasmussen^[10]	October 3, 2006	33%	58%
Quinnipiac^[11]	August 17, 2006	32%	64%
Rasmussen^[12]	August 14, 2006	35%	57%
Rasmussen^[13]	July 23, 2006	32%	54%
Quinnipiac^[14]	July 20, 2006	25%	62%
Rasmussen^[15]	June 19, 2006	31%	59%
Quinnipiac^[16]	June 8, 2006	24%	64%
Quinnipiac^[16]	May 2, 2006	20%	66%
Quinnipiac^[17]	February 16, 2006	16%	70%
Quinnipiac^[18]	January 12, 2006	21%	64%
Quinnipiac^[19]	July 27, 2005	22%	61%
Quinnipiac^[20]	April 6, 2005	19%	66%
Quinnipiac^[21]	November 23, 2004	22%	59%

Results

The following are the results of the 2006 election:^[22] Rell won every county and all but seven towns. Notably, DeStefano won the capital city of Hartford, the largest city of Bridgeport, and his hometown of New Haven.

^[22]

2006 Connecticut gubernatorial election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jodi Rell (incumbent)	710,048	63.2	+7.1
	Democratic	John DeStefano Jr.	398,220	35.5	−8.4
	Green	Cliff Thornton	9,584	0.9	n/a
	Concerned Citizens	Joseph A. Zdonczyk	5,560	0.5	n/a
	Write-in		54	0.0	n/a
Total votes			1,123,212	100.0	n/a
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Windham (largest town: Windham)

By congressional district

Rell won all five congressional districts, including four that elected Democrats.^[23]

District	Rell	DeStefano Jr.	Representative
1st	58%	41%	John B. Larson
2nd	63%	35%	Rob Simmons (109th Congress)
2nd	63%	35%	Joe Courtney (110th Congress)
3rd	61%	37%	Rosa DeLauro
4th	67%	32%	Christopher Shays
5th	67%	32%	Nancy L. Johnson (109th Congress)
5th	67%	32%	Chris Murphy (110th Congress)

References

^ "Summary of election day registration, turnout and absentee ballot statistics, November 7, 2006". CT State Library.
^ "Approval Ratings for All 50 Governors". SurveyUSA. October 19, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2006.
^ "Clifford W. Thornton, Jr". League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
^ "Joseph A. Zdonczyk". League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
^ "Registered Write-In Candidates". State of Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
^ "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ Rasmussen Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
^ Quinnipiac
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen Archived 2006-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ Quinnipiac
^ Rasmussen
^ ^a ^b Quinnipiac
^ Quinnipiac
^ Quinnipiac
^ Quinnipiac
^ Quinnipiac
^ Quinnipiac
^ ^a ^b "Vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor 2006". STATE OF CONNECTICUT. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
^ "Statement of Vote" (PDF). Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.

External links

[1] "Summary of election day registration, turnout and absentee ballot statistics, November 7, 2006". CT State Library.

[Rellapproval-2] "Approval Ratings for All 50 Governors". SurveyUSA. October 19, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2006.

[3] "Clifford W. Thornton, Jr". League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.

[4] "Joseph A. Zdonczyk". League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.

[Writeins-5] "Registered Write-In Candidates". State of Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2006.

[6] "2006 Governor Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2006.

[7] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[8] "2006 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[9] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[10] Rasmussen Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine

[11] Quinnipiac

[12] Rasmussen

[13] Rasmussen Archived 2006-10-07 at the Wayback Machine

[14] Quinnipiac

[15] Rasmussen

[Quinnipiac-16] Quinnipiac

[17] Quinnipiac

[18] Quinnipiac

[19] Quinnipiac

[20] Quinnipiac

[21] Quinnipiac

[ct.gov-22] "Vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor 2006". STATE OF CONNECTICUT. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2021.

[sov-23] "Statement of Vote" (PDF). Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

Elections in Connecticut
General	1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 2024
State Senate	1920 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State House	2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Governor	1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 Apr 1876 Nov 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
U.S. President	1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028
U.S. Senate	1788 1790 1791 1793 1796 1797 1801 1803 1807 1809 1812 1813 1814 1818 1819 1821 1824 1826 1831 1832 1837 1842 1852 (sp) 1854 1856 1860 1863 1866 1872 1879 1881 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024
U.S. House	1788 1790 1792 1794 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1840 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1928 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1982 1984 1990 1994 1998 2000 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
See also: Political party strength in Connecticut

(2005 ←) 2006 United States elections (→ 2007)
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Florida Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House (election ratings)	Alabama Alaska Arizona 8th Arkansas California 50th sp Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia 4th Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota 5th 6th Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio 2nd Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas 22nd and 22nd sp Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Lt. Gov Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys General	California Connecticut Florida Maryland Michigan Minnesota New York Texas
State officials	California Insurance Commissioner Secretary of State Controller Treasurer Superintendent of Public Instruction Connecticut Secretary of the State Florida Chief Financial Officer Commissioner of Agriculture Maryland Comptroller Michigan Secretary of State Minnesota Auditor New York Comptroller
State legislatures	Alabama Senate Arizona California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Senate Iowa House Senate Maryland House Senate Massachusetts House Senate Michigan House Senate Minnesota House Senate Montana House New Mexico House North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Texas House Senate Wyoming Senate
Mayors	Anaheim, CA Anchorage, AK Austin, TX Fort Lauderdale, FL Irvine, CA Long Beach, CA Louisville, KY Newark, NJ New Orleans, LA Richmond, CA San Bernardino, CA San Jose, CA Norfolk, VA Oakland, CA Providence, RI Santa Ana, CA Tallahassee, FL Tulsa, OK Washington, DC
States	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Results

Convention

Primary

Independents and third parties

Green Party

Concerned Citizens Party

Independent

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

See also

References

External links