The 2006 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, and included the races for the governor of Pennsylvania and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ed Rendell successfully ran for re-election. Pennsylvania's first female lieutenant governor, Catherine Baker Knoll, was also running for re-election.
As of 2025, this is the most recent gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate has carried the following counties: Clearfield, Columbia, Elk, Mercer, Pike, Susquehanna, Warren, Wayne and Wyoming. This is the last time any statewide race in Pennsylvania resulted in a candidate getting over 60% of the vote, until Governor Josh Shapiro's re-election in 2026.
Background
Rendell and Knoll had the advantage of incumbency, important in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Rendell's approval rating as of May 2006 was 62%.
In the 2000 Presidential election, then-Vice President Al Gore won the state 50.6%-46.4% over then-Texas Governor George W. Bush. In 2004, Senator John Kerry carried the state 50.9%-48.4% over incumbent President Bush.
Although the state had voted Democratic in eight of the past 12 presidential elections, its Congressional delegation had been majority Republican for years. The counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny were the Democratic strongholds, while the central part of the state was where the Republican Party fared best. The 2005 statewide party registration had Democrats out-numbering Republicans in the state with 3,841,429 to 3,292,656, with 939,252 registered independent voters.
Democratic primary
Michael Morrill, the Green Party's nominee for governor in 2002, considered challenging Rendell on a progressive liberal platform. However, on February 13, 2006, Morrill stated that he would not run, citing the toll his 2002 race had taken on his family. Rendell thus ran unopposed.
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame wide receiver and chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Withdrew
- Jim Panyard, former president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association
- Jeff Piccola, majority whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate from Susquehanna Township
- William Scranton III, former lieutenant governor and the 1986 nominee
Declined
- Bruce Castor, district attorney of Montgomery County and candidate for attorney general in 2004
- Jane Earll, state senator from Erie County and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002
- Melissa Hart, U.S. representative from Pittsburgh (ran for re-election)
- Rick Santorum, U.S. senator (ran for re-election)
- Mark Schweiker, former governor
- Pat Toomey, former U.S. representative from Allentown and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004
Campaign
Lynn Swann, Jeff Piccola, Jim Panyard and Bill Scranton III all announced their intention to run in the Republican primary for governor in 2006. Scranton, who served two terms as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, was the son of popular former governor William Scranton, and a member of the wealthy Scranton family, was the early front-runner. However, a series of blunders by his campaign, and a lack of momentum from the Piccola and Panyard campaigns, moved Swann into presumptive nominee status. The state Republican party then endorsed Swann, leading the three other candidates to drop out ahead of the March deadline to file for the primary.
General election
Candidates
- Ed Rendell, incumbent governor of Pennsylvania (Democratic)
- Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame wide receiver and chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (Republican)
- Running mate: Jim Matthews, Montgomery County commissioner and brother of Chris Matthews
Withdrew
- Marakay Rogers, attorney and 2004 attorney general nominee (Green)
Failed to submit signatures
- Russ Diamond, 2005 General Assembly pay raise whistleblower (Independent)
- Running mate: Tom Lingenfelter, former Republican state committeeman and perennial candidate
- Hagan Smith, building contractor and chair of Butler County Constitution Party (Constitution)
Four candidates were campaigning for governor, but only two went on to appear on the ballot in November. Constitution candidate Hagan Smith and Independent candidate Russ Diamond were unable to secure the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot. On August 11, Green Party candidate Marakay Rogers withdrew her nominating papers, following a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats, who alleged that more than 69,000 signatures on the petitions were fake names, unregistered voters or illegible. The challenge followed a Republican drive to collect signatures to put Green candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot in the Senate race.
Rogers continued to campaign, hoping that a federal appeals court would rule favorably in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's signature requirement for third-party candidates.
Analysis
In July 2005, a Zogby Poll showed Rendell with only a 47% to 41% lead over Lynn Swann. Some speculated that controversy over Act 72, proposed Medicaid cuts, and possibly even a legislative pay increase that was signed into law, had reduced the governor's popularity. Rendell led in other recent polls by significantly higher margins. Following that poll, Rendell's supporters pointed out that he had raised more money than his opponents, which they felt would help him spread his message. They also pointed out that as a sitting governor, Rendell had all the traditional advantages of an incumbent.
Swann hoped to perform strongly in the conservative "T" section of the state (the central and northern regions) and in his native western Pennsylvania area. Swann canvassed for votes among tailgating voters in Philadelphia before the Steelers game against the Eagles. On February 7, Swann served as master of ceremonies for the Pittsburgh Steelers's Super Bowl XL victory parade before 250,000 people. Polls in early February showed Swann and Rendell in a statistical tie. However, Swann's momentum did not survive an effective barrage of advertising from Rendell in early spring, and he had trouble keeping up with Rendell's effective fundraising. Swann's focus on reform never caught traction, possibly as a result of his vocal support for Chip Brightbill and Robert Jubelirer, legislative leaders who were defeated in the May 2006 primary election.
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Cambria (largest municipality: Johnstown)
- Clinton (largest city: Lock Haven)
- Clearfield (largest city: DuBois)
- Columbia (largest city: Bloomsburg)
- Elk (largest city: St. Marys)
- Mercer (largest municipality: Hermitage)
- Centre (largest municipality: State College)
- Erie (largest municipality: Erie)
- Monroe (largest borough: Stroudsburg)
- Northumberland (largest borough: Sunbury)
- Pike (largest municipality: Matamoras)
- Susquehanna (largest municipality: Forest City)
- Wayne (largest municipality: Honesdale)
- Wyoming (largest municipality: Tunkhannock)
- Warren (largest city: Warren)