Georgia state elections, 2006
Encyclopedia
United States Congressional elections
In 2006, all thirteen of Georgia's U.S. HouseUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seats were up for election. Neither of the Peach state's U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seats were up for election that year.
United States House of Representatives elections
All thirteen of Georgia's incumbent Representatives sought re-election in 2006. Going into the elections, Republicans held seven of Georgia's U.S. House seats and Democrats held six seats. Notable House races in Georgia included those in the Fourth (more specifically the Democratic Primary), EighthGeorgia's 8th congressional district election, 2006
A Republican mid-decade redistricting made this Macon-based district more compact and somewhat more Republican. Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall faced a very tough challenge by former Congressman Mac Collins, who represented an adjoining district from 1993 to 2005. Less than 60 percent of the...
, and Twelfth districts.
Despite significant gains by Republicans in Georgia since 2002, such as consecutive Republican victories since in Presidential elections since 1996
United States presidential election in Georgia, 1996
The 1996 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1996 as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President....
, gaining both of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, the election of Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
as Georgia's first post-Reconstruction Republican governor in 2002, successful elections of Republicans to other state executive offices, and gaining control of both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction, Democrats have succeeded in gaining seats of Georgia's House delegation in recent House elections.
Following gains in both houses of the General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
in 2002 and 2004, Republicans enacted a mid-decade redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
to alter the congressional districts created by the 146th Georgia General Assembly, which Democrats held control of at the time, with the intention of benefiting Republicans. Two Democratic incumbents who were especially targeted were Jim Marshall (GA-8
Georgia's 8th congressional district
Georgia's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located in central Georgia, the district is based in Macon and also includes Warner Robins, Tifton, and Moultrie...
) and John Barrow (GA-12
Georgia's 12th congressional district
Georgia's 12th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia covering much of the east central parts of the state. From the city of Augusta it runs southeast, along the state's border with South Carolina, to the city of Savannah, taking in such cities as...
). They were opposed respectively by former Representatives Mac Collins
Mac Collins
Michael Allen "Mac" Collins , American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing the...
(who previously represented what is now the Third district
Georgia's 3rd congressional district
Georgia's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is based in west central Georgia and stretches from Columbus in the south to the southern edge of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area in the north, including Fayette, Coweta, Henry, and Spalding...
) and Max Burns. These two races were among the most competitive in the nation, but ultimately resulted in both incumbents being re-elected by razor thin margins of 1 and 0.6 percentage points respectively.
The partisan makeup of Georgia's House delegation did not change, however one Incumbent, Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
(GA-4
Georgia's 4th congressional district
Georgia's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The majority African American district includes parts of Dekalb, Rockdale, and Gwinnett counties in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, including North Atlanta, Decatur, and Lilburn...
), was denied renomination by her 59% to 41% defeat in the Democratic Primary runoff to then-Dekalb county
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
Commissioner Hank Johnson
Hank Johnson
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is based in DeKalb County, a largely suburban county east of Atlanta. It also includes portions of Gwinnett and Rockdale counties.-Life, education and...
.
Gubernatorial election
Incumbent Governor Sonny PerdueSonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
, the first Republican Governor of Georgia since reconstruction, was re-elected over then-Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor (politician)
Mark Fletcher Taylor is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. He served two terms between 1999 to 2007 as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Georgia...
(D).
Other Statewide Officer elections
Prior to the elections, though Republicans held the Governor's mansion and majorities in both houses of the Georgia General AssemblyGeorgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
, Democrats then-held five of the eight statewide offices. Following the elections, Republicans would pick-up two positions, those being Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
The Lieutenant Governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the state, elected to a 4-year term by popular vote. Unlike some states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the state Governor....
and Secretary of State
Secretary of state of Georgia
The secretary of state of the U.S. state of Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records....
, with the victories of Casey Cagle
Casey Cagle
Lowell S. "Casey" Cagle is an American politician currently serving as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. He is a member of the Republican Party, a conservative, and a former member of the General Assembly in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 2006, Cagle defeated political activist Ralph...
(who became the eleventh overall and first ever Republican elected Lieutenant Governor) and Karen Handel
Karen Handel
Karen C. Handel is an American politician in the state of Georgia who served as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 until her resignation in January 2010 when she ran for Governor of Georgia in the 2010 election as a Republican. She announced in December 2009 that she would resign as...
(who became the twenty-sixth overall and first Republican since reconstruction to be Secretary of State) in each of their respective races. Both positions were open after the incumbent office holders chose to seek the governorship of Georgia.
All other state Executive Officers, Attorney General of Georgia
State Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
Thurbert Baker
Thurbert Baker
Thurbert E. Baker was the Attorney General of the U.S. state of Georgia, serving from 1997, when he was appointed by Governor Zell Miller...
(D), state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox
Kathy Cox
Kathy Cox is a former superintendent of public schools for the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a Republican. A high school teacher by occupation, Cox also served two terms, from 1998 to 2002, in the Georgia General Assembly, representing Peachtree City, Georgia, prior to her election as...
(R), Commissioner of Insurance John Oxendine
John Oxendine
John W. Oxendine is an American politician who served four terms as Insurance Commissioner of the U.S. state of Georgia. Oxendine is of Lumbee heritage, an Indian tribe from North Carolina. A member of the Republican party, he was first elected commissioner in 1994 and was reelected in 1998,...
(R), Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin
Tommy Irvin
Tommy Irvin served as Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture from 1969 until January 2011. He was elected to his 10th and final four-year term in November 2006. Irvin did not seek re-election in 2010...
(D), and Commissioner of Labor Mike Thurmond
Mike Thurmond
Michael L. "Mike" Thurmond is the former Commissioner of Labor for the state of Georgia and was the Democratic Party's nominee for United States Senate in 2010....
(D), were re-elected.
Judicial elections
In 2006, four seats on the Supreme Court of Georgia and four on the Georgia Court of AppealsGeorgia Court of Appeals
The Georgia Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Georgia.-Founding of the court:The genesis of the Court of Appeals began with a report by the State Bar of Georgia in 1895, suggesting that the Georgia State Legislature create a new intermediate appellate...
were up for election. All judicial elections in Georgia are officially non-partisan.
Supreme Court of Georgia elections
Incumbent state Supreme Court Associate Justices George H. Carley, Harold MeltonHarold Melton
Harold D. Melton is a current Justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia. He was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue on July 1, 2005 to fill the vacancy on the bench created by the retirement of Justice Norman S. Fletcher. His appointment marked the first time a Republican governor had made an...
, Hugh P. Thompson, and Carol W. Hunstein
Carol W. Hunstein
Carol W. Hunstein is the Chief Justice of the U.S. State Supreme Court of Georgia. She took office as chief justice on July 1, 2009 and has served on the court since 1992.-Education:...
were all re-elected with three being unopposed. Only Hunstein received any opposition, which she overcame handily.