Texas Gubernatorial Election, 2006
With the Republicans collapsing in 2006, it seemed that even solid Red states could be up for grabs. With a conservative split occurring in Texas between Governor Rick Perry and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, with the latter running as an independent in the Gubernatorial race, Democrat Chris Bell's campaign felt confident, though a victory was still unlikely. Then, mostly liberal candidate Kinky Friedman dropped out and endorsed Bell. Going into the final weeks, the election was a total tossup, with Bell's campaign not knowing if Friedman voters would show up to the polls, and Perry's team unsure of how huge the split caused by Strayhorn was.
Early on the morning of November 8, Perry called Bell to concede, having lost the election by 3.2 points and roughly 140,000 votes. Texas would have its first Democratic governor since Ann Richards. The Democratic Wave had done wonders across the nation, including making Bell into a national figure overnight.
With the Republicans collapsing in 2006, it seemed that even solid Red states could be up for grabs. With a conservative split occurring in Texas between Governor Rick Perry and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, with the latter running as an independent in the Gubernatorial race, Democrat Chris Bell's campaign felt confident, though a victory was still unlikely. Then, mostly liberal candidate Kinky Friedman dropped out and endorsed Bell. Going into the final weeks, the election was a total tossup, with Bell's campaign not knowing if Friedman voters would show up to the polls, and Perry's team unsure of how huge the split caused by Strayhorn was.
Early on the morning of November 8, Perry called Bell to concede, having lost the election by 3.2 points and roughly 140,000 votes. Texas would have its first Democratic governor since Ann Richards. The Democratic Wave had done wonders across the nation, including making Bell into a national figure overnight.
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