2006 Ohio gubernatorial election

The 2006 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, and was a race for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. Incumbent Governor Bob Taft could not run for re-election, because Ohio governors are limited to two consecutive terms in office. The election was held concurrently with a U.S. Senate election. The general election for governor pitted Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican nominee, against United States Congressman Ted Strickland of Ohio's 6th congressional district, the Democratic nominee. Their running mates were former Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher on the Democratic ticket and State Representative Tom Raga on the Republican ticket. In the end, the contest was not close, and Strickland captured more than 60 percent of the vote, giving him a solid 24-point margin of victory. Strickland was declared the winner right at 7:30 P.M. EST time when the polls closed in Ohio. Blackwell called Strickland and conceded defeat at 8:45 P.M. EST. Strickland won most areas of the state. In particular, he trounced Blackwell in eastern Ohio, with Blackwell only carrying one county in this region (Holmes). Blackwell did well in the Cincinnati suburbs, although he only managed to win Hamilton County, which encompasses the City of Cincinnati, by just about 2,000 votes. He did manage to win some rural western counties as well, but Strickland defeated Blackwell in Cuyahoga County and Franklin County, home of Cleveland and Columbus respectively. Strickland also performed strongly in the Rust Belt area from Cleveland all the way to Toledo, as well as in the Akron-Youngstown Area. This would turn out to be one of the most expensive gubernatorial elections in Ohio's history. , this was the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Ohio.