2006 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election

2006 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election
November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07)
Turnout47.22%
 
Nominee Bill Halter Jim Holt
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 437,490 325,215
Percentage 57.36% 42.64%
County results
Halter:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Holt:      50–60%
Lieutenant Governor before election

Vacant

 Elected Lieutenant Governor

Bill Halter
Democratic

The 2006 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, to elect the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, concurrently with elections to the United States House of Representatives, governor, and other state and local elections. Primary elections were held on May 23, 2006, with primary runoff elections, if necessary, being held on June 13, 2006.[1]

Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, who was term-limited from seeking a third full term in office, died on July 16, 2006, due to complications from myeloproliferative disorder.[2][3] The office remained vacant until the November general election.

Former Social Security Administration commissioner Bill Halter, who had previously considered a run for governor, defeated state legislator Jim Holt in the general election, flipping party control of the office.[4] As of 2026, this election is the last time a Democrat was elected to the office of lieutenant governor.[5]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

  • Jim Holt, state senator from the 35th district (2003–present) and state representative from the 5th district (2001–2003)[6]

Eliminated in primary

  • Charles Banks[7]
  • Doug Matayo, state representative from the 93rd district (2003–present)[8]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Charles
Banks 		Jim
Holt 		Doug
Matayo 		Undecided
SurveyUSA/KTHV[9] May 12–14, 2006 344 (LV) ± 5.3% 12% 57% 12% 19%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[10] April 8–10, 2006 353 (LV) ± 5.2% 12% 59% 7% 22%

Results

Republican primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Holt 35,309 56.16
Republican Charles Banks 15,722 25.01
Republican Doug Matayo 11,837 18.83
Total votes 62,868 100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary runoff

  • Tim Wooldridge, state senator and former state representative[12]

Eliminated in primary

Polling

Regular primary

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Bill
Halter 		Mike
Hathorn 		Jay
Martin 		Tim
Wooldridge 		Undecided
SurveyUSA/KTHV[9] May 12–14, 2006 491 (LV) ± 4.5% 41% 14% 6% 20% 20%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[10] April 8–10, 2006 446 (LV) ± 4.7% 33% 14% 7% 15% 31%

Runoff

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Bill
Halter 		Tim
Wooldridge 		Other/Undecided
SurveyUSA/KTHV[15] June 9–11, 2006 455 (LV) ± 4.7% 60% 35% 6%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[16] June 3–5, 2006 436 (LV) ± 4.8% 59% 34% 7%

Results

Democratic primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Halter 110,797 39.97
Democratic Tim Wooldridge 73,718 26.59
Democratic Mike Hathorn 68,531 24.72
Democratic Jay Martin 24,174 8.72
Total votes 277,220 100.0
Runoff election
Democratic Bill Halter 97,279 56.50
Democratic Tim Wooldridge 74,906 43.50
Total votes 172,185 100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Jim
Holt (R) 		Bill
Halter (D) 		Other/Undecided
SurveyUSA/KTHV[17] November 3–5, 2006 549 (LV) ± 4.3% 42% 50% 7%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[18] October 22–24, 2006 572 (LV) ± 4.2% 39% 54% 7%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[19] September 25–26, 2006 493 (LV) ± 4.5% 42% 48% 10%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[20] August 27–29, 2006 538 (LV) ± 4.3% 41% 50% 8%
SurveyUSA/KTHV[21] July 14–16, 2006 509 (LV) ± 4.4% 39% 48% 12%

Results

2006 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Halter 437,490 57.36
Republican Jim Holt 325,515 42.64
Total votes 763,005 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. ^ "2006 Congressional Primary Dates" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. July 28, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  2. ^ Barnes, Steve (July 17, 2006). "Arkansas Lt. Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller Dies at 57". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  3. ^ "Win Rockefeller Dead At 57". CBS News. July 16, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  4. ^ "Blanche Lincoln Draws Dem Challenger". CBS News. March 1, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2026. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2006 after briefly considering a run for governor against Mike Beebe, who won the post.
  5. ^ "History of Our Office". Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  6. ^ Sabin, Warwick (June 22, 2006). "Trojan man". Arkansas Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c "Voice of Arkansas: A Report on Voting Trends in the Natural State" (PDF). Arkansas Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Bowden, Bill (March 9, 2010). "Matayo makes 8 for GOP primary". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved March 2, 2026. He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2006, finishing third in the Republican primary election.
  9. ^ a b "SurveyUSA Election Poll #9240". SurveyUSA. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  10. ^ a b "SurveyUSA Election Poll #8867". SurveyUSA. April 11, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  11. ^ Brantley, Max (June 14, 2006). "Elections — Halter, Shoffner and ?". Arkansas Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  12. ^ "Democratic State Sen. Tim Wooldridge Announces his run for Lieutenant Governor". KAIT-8. April 24, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  13. ^ McCord, Robert (May 18, 2006). "Sneaky Hathorn". Arkansas Times. Retrieved March 2, 2026. Hathorn, a 32-year-old lawyer who was a former state legislator from Huntsville (home of the late six-term governor Orval Faubus), is trying to be elected lieutenant governor this year.
  14. ^ "Former Democratic candidate for Arkansas governor announces bid for Supreme Court chief justice". KATV-7. October 5, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2026. Martin also ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 2006.
  15. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #9541". SurveyUSA. June 12, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  16. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #9432". SurveyUSA. June 6, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  17. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #10645". SurveyUSA. November 6, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  18. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #10443". SurveyUSA. October 25, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  19. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #10322". SurveyUSA. September 27, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  20. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #10100". SurveyUSA. August 30, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  21. ^ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #9729". SurveyUSA. July 17, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  22. ^ "Arkansas Secretary of State". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.