2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election

The 2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Linda Lingle was the first Republican to be elected governor of Hawaii since 1959. Although 2006 was a strong election year for Democrats, Lingle won re-election by a landslide owing to an economic rebound in the state that occurred during her tenure after a shaky decade for the state economy during the 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2024, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Hawaii, as well as the only time in Hawaii history that a Republican governor was re-elected. Additionally, this alongside 1972 United States presidential election were the only two times Republicans won the state with more than 60% of the vote.

Candidates

 * Linda Lingle, incumbent governor
 * George L. Berish, fellow of the Society of Actuaries
 * Paul Manner, freelance news correspondent
 * George G. Peabody, editor of the Molokai Advertiser-News

Candidate

 * Randy Iwase, former state senator and former Honolulu city councilor
 * William Aila, Wai'anae harbormaster
 * Van Tanabe, former telecommunications executive

Green Party

 * James Brewer Jr. - full-time political-economic educator and advocate for Hawaii's employee families

Libertarian Party

 * Ozell Daniel, comedian

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Kauai (largest community: Kapa'a)

External

 * Official Campaign Websites (Archived)
 * Linda Lingle
 * Randy Iwase
 * William Aila Jr.


 * Official government and party websites
 * Office of the Governor
 * Hawaii Democrats
 * Hawaii Republicans
 * Green Party of Hawaii
 * Libertarian Party of Hawaii

Internal

 * U.S. gubernatorial elections, 2006
 * State of Hawaii
 * Governors of Hawaii
 * Democratic Party of Hawaii
 * Hawaii Republican Party
 * Green Party of Hawaii