The 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. The incumbent Republican governor, Mitt Romney, chose not to seek a second term. Polls had been mixed prior to Romney's announcement, with one poll showing Romney slightly leading Democrat Attorney General Tom Reilly and other polls showing Reilly, who was then the Democratic frontrunner, in the lead.

Willard Mitt Romney is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Utah since 2019. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election, losing to Barack Obama.