Bar graph of statewide results Results by county The period for candidate nominations closed on March 24, 2006.
Democratic Candidates •
Phil Angelides –
California State Treasurer; former State Democratic Chair and developer •
Barbara Becnel – Executive Director of Neighborhood House of North Richmond; founder of Save
Stanley Tookie Williams campaign • Joe Brouilette – high school teacher • Edie Bukewihge – writer and publisher • Jerald Gerst – physician • Vibert Greene – engineer • Frank Macaluso – medical doctor • Michael Strimling – attorney •
Steve Westly –
California State Controller; former Internet executive The two front-runners for the Democratic nomination were Angelides and
California State Controller Steve Westly. A pre-election poll had Westly leading Angelides by six percentage points. The Field Poll conducted on April 17, 2006, showed that both Democratic candidates had low recognition factors amongst the state's electorate, with only 45% having any opinion on Angelides and 40% for Westly. Of registered Democrats surveyed, 59% said they didn't know enough about Angelides to have any opinion about him, with 58% saying the same for Westly. The
Los Angeles Times reported that the race for the Democratic nomination was a virtual tie, with Angelides leading Westly by three percentage points (37%–34%), within the 3% margin of error. Unusually, 28% of Democratic voters were undecided, and both candidates tried to earn the undecided vote. Angelides reported a recent increase in support for his campaign and gained union support as well as support from the "core"
liberal constituency. The
California Democratic Party endorsed him prior to the primary, despite most polls showing that Westly would fare much better against Schwarzenegger in the general election. However, many registered Democrats believed that Westly had a greater chance of winning against incumbent governor Schwarzenegger and felt that he had a slightly "more positive" image. In the end, Angelides won 47.9% of the vote to Westly's 43.4%. The turnout for the primary, was a record low 33.6%, far below the 38% predicted by the Secretary of State, with the turnout of valid ballots cast on election day at 28%.
Polling Results Republican Candidates • Jeffrey Burns – general contractor • Bill Chambers – railroad switchman • Robert C. Newman II – psychologist and farmer •
Arnold Schwarzenegger – incumbent
Governor of California Republican Schwarzenegger faced token opposition and won overwhelmingly in the primary held on June 6, 2006.
Results Minor parties Green American Independent Libertarian Peace and Freedom == General election ==