The 2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican
Donald Carcieri very narrowly defeated Democratic Lieutenant Governor
Charles J. Fogarty in one of the closest gubernatorial elections in Rhode Island history. With a margin of 2%, this election was also the second-closest race of the
2006 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only
the election in Minnesota.
As of 2024[update], this was the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Rhode Island and the last time a Republican won any statewide office in Rhode Island. This is also the last time the Republican candidate won the counties of
Bristol and
Washington. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor of Rhode Island.
The 2006 gubernatorial election was one of the closest in the history of
Rhode Island. Carcieri won all but one county. However, the one county that went for Fogarty was
Providence County, home to
Providence, Rhode Island, which is heavily populated and known for favoring Democrats. The race at one point was only at a margin of 4,000 votes. Finally at 3:48 A.M. on November 8, Carcieri was declared the winner by the
Associated Press. Fogarty conceded early the next morning.