2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 6
Incumbent Republican Bob Goodlatte defeated independents Barbara Jean Pryor and Andre D. Peery.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 7
Incumbent Republican Eric Cantor defeated Democrat James M. Nachmann and independent W. Brad Blanton.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 8
Incumbent Democrat Jim Moran defeated Republican Tom M. O'Donoghue and independent Jim Hurysz.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 9
Long-serving incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher defeated Republican Bill Carrico to win a 13th term.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 10
Incumbent Republican Frank Wolf, the Dean of the Virginia congressional delegation, defeated Democrat Judy Feder, a professor at Georgetown University, Libertarian Wilbur N. Wood III and independent Neeraj C. Nigam.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, District 11
Incumbent Republican Thomas M Davis defeated Democrat Andrew Hurst and Independent Green Joseph Oddo in an unexpectedly close election.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington
Elections were held in Washington state in 2006 for seats in the United States House of Representatives. Of the nine congressional districts, six were won by Democrats and three by Republicans, with the Democrats taking 64% of the vote.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 1
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee easily dispatched Republican challenger Larry Ishmael to win a sixth term.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 2
Democratic incumbent Congressman Rick Larsen defeated his Republican opponent, U.S. Navy veteran Doug Roulstone by a solid margin.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 3
In a slight improvement over his 2004 performance, incumbent Democratic Congressman Brian Baird easily won a fifth term over Republican challenger Michael Messmore.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 4
In his bid for a seventh term, Republican incumbent Congressman Doc Hastings beat back a spirited challenge from Democratic nominee Richard Wright. Though Hastings eventually beat Wright by a fairly solid margin, it was not the kind of landslide that Hastings usually experienced in this strongly conservative district based in Central Washington.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 5
Like neighboring Congressman Hastings, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers faced a surprisingly strong challenge from Democratic nominee Peter J. Goldmark in her conservative, Eastern Washington district. Though Rodgers ultimately edged Goldmark out by a comfortable margin, the race got close enough for CQ Politics to change its rating on the race to Republican Favored from Safe Republican.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 6
Long-serving Democratic incumbent Norm Dicks, a high-ranking member on the Appropriations Committee did not face a credible challenge to his bid for a sixteenth term from conservative activist Doug Cloud in this liberal, Kitsap Peninsula-based district.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 7
In his bid for a ninth term, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott easily beat out Republican nominee Steve Beren and independent Linnea S. Noreen in this very liberal, Seattle-based district.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 8
In 2004, then-King County Sheriff Dave Reichert won his first campaign for the United States House of Representatives by a five-point margin. 2006 proved to be just as tough of a year for Reichert. Facing former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner for the first time, Reichert faced a grueling battle for re-election. Polls taken in October showed the two candidates to be about even and the two major newspapers in the area--the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Times--split their endorsements: The Post-Intelligencer endorsed Burner while the Times supported Reichert. Ultimately, though, a few weeks after election day, it became evident that Reichert had beaten out Burner and had won a second term.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, District 9
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Adam Smith easily beat out Republican candidate Steven Cofchin for a sixth term in this Western Washington district based in the Puget Sound.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia
The 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 7, 2006, to determine who will represent the state of West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. West Virginia has three seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, District 1
Incumbent Democrat Alan Mollohan defeated Republican Chris Wakim, a state delegate. This district covers the northern part of the state.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, District 2
Incumbent Republican Shelley Moore Capito defeated Democrat Mike Callaghan, a U.S. Attorney. This district covers the central part of the state.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, District 3
Incumbent Democrat Nick Rahall defeated Republican Kim Wolfe, the Sheriff of Cabell County. This district covers the southern part of the state.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin
The 2006 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 7, 2006, to determine who would represent the state of Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009. The election coincided with the 2006 U.S. senatorial election and the 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has eight seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2006-2007 congressional delegation consisted of four Democrats and four Republicans. That changed after the 2006 congressional elections in Wisconsin when the open 8th congressional district formerly held by Republican Mark Green, was won by Democratic Representative Steve Kagen.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 1
Incumbent Republican Congressman Paul Ryan has represented this swing district in southeast Wisconsin since his initial election in 1998. Though this district only barely went to President George W. Bush in 2004, defeating Congressman Ryan was not a priority for the Democratic Party, and the Democratic nominee was former Janesville City Councilman and perennial candidate Jeff Thomas, whom Ryan was able to handily beat, even in an unfavorable election year for Republicans.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 2
Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, the only openly lesbian member of Congress, has represented this deep-blue district located in Madison and vicinity since 1999. This year, Baldwin was able to win a fifth term in a rematch from 2004 against Republican candidate Dave Magnum.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 3
Democratic Congressman Ron Kind has represented this western Wisconsin-based district since he was first elected in 1996 and sought a sixth term this year against Republican nominee Paul Nelson. Congressman Kind was successful and won another term in Congress.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 4
Freshman Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore ran for a second term in this district based in the city of Milwaukee. Congresswoman Moore faced Republican candidate Perfecto Rivera, whom she was easily able to dispatch with to return to Washington for another term.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 5
Incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who has represented this solidly conservative district based in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee since 1979, ran for a fifteenth term this year. Congressman Sensenbrenner faced Democratic candidate Bryan Kennedy, who was able to perform surprisingly well in this district, though he ultimately fell to Sensenbrenner in the general election.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 6
Facing no major-party opposition, incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Petri was easily able to retain his seat for a fourteenth term in this heavily conservative district located in the cities of Oshkosh and Neenah.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 7
Long-serving Democratic Congressman Dave Obey, a high-ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee and the dean of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, ran for a twentieth term in Congress against Republican candidate Nick Reid and Green Party candidate Mike Miles. Obey has represented northwest Wisconsin for decades, and retained his seat by a large margin.


2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, District 8
When incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Green declined to seek a fifth term, instead opting to run for Governor, an open seat was created. Physician Steve Kagen defeated business consultant Jamie Wall and former Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum in the Democratic primary, while the Speaker of the State Assembly John Gard defeated fellow State Representative Terri McCormick in the Republican primary. Gard and Kagen duked it out in this marginally conservative district, with the election becoming the most expensive congressional election in Wisconsin state history. Ultimately, Kagen was able to take advantage of the Democratic wave sweeping the country and defeated Gard to seize the seat for the Democrats.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona
The 2006 United States Senate election in Arizona was held November 7, 2006. The primary elections were held September 12. Incumbent Republican Jon Kyl won re-election to a third term.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Campaign
The incumbent, Republican Jon Kyl, was elected to the Senate in 1994 and was re-elected to a second term in 2000; prior to that he spent eight years in the US House of Representatives. Kyl's Democratic opponent for the general election was wealthy real-estate developer Jim Pederson, who served as the Arizona Democratic Party Chairman from 2001 to 2005. During his tenure, Pederson spent millions of dollars of his own money to help Democrats modernize and to elect Janet Napolitano as Governor of Arizona. The deadline for signing petition signatures to appear on the September 12, 2006, primary ballot was June 14, 2006.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Campaign
Not long after the 2004 election, Pederson's name began being mentioned as a potential Senate candidate for the 2006 race. On July 28, 2005, Pederson formally stepped down as Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, further fueling those speculations. In early September 2005, an e-mail was sent from the Arizona Democratic Party's website, inviting people to an announcement by Pederson on September 7. In an anticlimactic move, an e-mail was sent out shortly after the first saying that the announcement would be postponed due to Hurricane Katrina.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Campaign
It was requested that any money that would be donated to Pederson's campaign at the announcement be directed to relief efforts instead. Similarly, a meeting in Arizona of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was scheduled for around the same time. It was also postponed and the same request was made involving donations. On September 7, 2005, Pederson filed to run for the U.S. Senate. On September 14, 2005, Pederson formally announced his intention to run, in his hometown of Casa Grande.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Campaign
Although Kyl started the campaign with a sizable lead in most polls, the gap quickly narrowed, especially after Pederson released his array of ads.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Fundraising
The race was one of the most expensive in Arizona history. As of May 7, 2006, Kyl's campaign had raised over $9 million, primarily from private donations from Oil and Energy companies and large fundraising dinners. Pederson's campaign had raised over $5 million, primarily through a dinner event with former President Clinton and a $2 million donation from Pederson.


2006 United States Senate election in Arizona, General election, Results
Pederson lost the election by 9.84% or 150,257 votes, despite Democratic Incumbent Governor Janet Napolitano easily being re-elected and winning every county statewide. While Pederson lost it was still notable, as it was the worst performance of Senator Kyl's career. Kyl did well as Republicans usually do in Maricopa County home of Phoenix. Pederson did well in Pima County home of Tucson which tends to support Democrats. Kyl was called the winner by CNN at around 8 P.M. local time, 11 P.M. EST. Pederson called Senator Kyl and conceded defeat at 9:02 P.M. local time, 12:02 A.M. EST.


2006 United States Senate election in California
The 2006 United States Senate election in California was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein won re-election to her third full term.


2006 United States Senate election in California, Background
Feinstein stood against Republican Dick Mountjoy, who had never held a statewide elected position, but had been a state senator for several years. Also running was Libertarian Michael Metti, Don Grundmann of the American Independent Party, Todd Chretien of the Green Party and Marsha Feinland of the Peace and Freedom Party.


2006 United States Senate election in California, Background
Because California is a state that requires a large amount of money to wage a competitive statewide campaign, it is not unusual - as was the case for this race - for a popular incumbent to have no significant opponent. Several prominent Republicans, such as Bill Jones, Matt Fong, and others, declined to run, and a previous announced challenger, businessman Bill Mundell, withdrew his declaration after determining he would not be a self-funded candidate (like Michael Huffington was in the 1994 election).


2006 United States Senate election in California, General election, Controversy
On September 22, the Los Angeles Times reported that Mountjoy's official biography, as found on his campaign website, falsely asserted that he had served aboard the battleship USS Missouri during the Korean War—he'd actually served aboard the heavy cruiser USS Bremerton. A review of the ships' logs corroborated this and the website was quickly changed to reflect his service aboard the Bremerton rather than the Missouri.


2006 United States Senate election in California, General election, Controversy
I think it was just something that somebody picked up, it didn't come from me.


2006 United States Senate election in California, General election, Results
Feinstein won the election easily. Feinstein won almost every major populated area winning in, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego. Feinstein was projected the winner right when the polls closed at 11 P.M. EST.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut
The 2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman lost the August 8 Democratic primary to Ned Lamont, but then formed his own third party and was reelected to a fourth term. Lieberman and Lamont both faced Alan Schlesinger, a Republican.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut
Lamont ran for governor in 2010, losing in the primary, and again in 2018, when he won.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary
The primary elections were held on August 8. The Democratic Party primary pitted Lieberman against Lamont.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Because Connecticut was believed to be a Democratic stronghold, political analysts considered its Senate seat safe to remain Democratic, but Lieberman's continued support for conservative and Bush administration policies made him vulnerable to a Democratic primary challenger.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Lieberman was criticized for a lack of commitment to the Democratic Party, opposition to affirmative action; his opposition to a Connecticut state law that would require Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims, his membership in the bipartisan Gang of 14, his support of Florida Governor Jeb Bush's involvement in the Terri Schiavo case, his initial willingness to compromise on Social Security privatization, alliances with Republicans; and his attacks on other Democrats.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
On March 13, 2006, Lamont announced his candidacy. He was more liberal than Lieberman, but he was not immune to criticism from within his party. The New Republic senior editor and "liberal hawk" Jonathan Chait, who was critical of Lieberman on a variety of issues, wrote:


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
I can't quite root for Lieberman to lose his primary. What's holding me back is that the anti-Lieberman campaign has come to stand for much more than Lieberman's sins. It's a test of strength for the new breed of left-wing activists who are flexing their muscles within the party. These are exactly the sorts of fanatics who tore the party apart in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They think in simple slogans and refuse to tolerate any ideological dissent.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Early polling showed Lieberman with as much as a 46-point lead, but subsequent polls showed Lamont gaining until he took the lead just weeks before the primary. A controversy about a "kiss" Lieberman supposedly received from Bush during the 2005 State of the Union address highlighted concerns that he was too close to Bush to be a credible Democratic nominee. Lieberman released several campaign advertisements over the summer seeking to connect himself to former President Bill Clinton and to portray Lamont as standing for little more than opposition to Lieberman.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Lamont struck back with an ad produced by political consultant Bill Hillsman, in which a narrator says, "Meet Ned Lamont. He can't make a decent cup of coffee, he's a bad karaoke singer, and he has a messy desk." Lamont then chimes in, "Aren't you sick of political attack ads that insult your intelligence? Senator Lieberman, let's stick to issues and pledge to support whoever wins the Democratic primary."


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
From mid-morning August 7 to well past August 9, Lieberman's official campaign site was taken offline; officials from Lieberman's campaign claimed "dirty politics" and "Rovian tactics" by Lamont's supporters, and more specifically, a sustained Distributed Denial of Service attack that, according to the Lieberman campaign, had left the site down for several days.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Tim Tagaris, Lamont's Internet communications director, denied the charge and attributed the downtime to the fact that the Lieberman campaign had chosen an inferior web host, or ISP, paying $15/month to operate its site (as opposed to the $1,500/month the Lamont campaign spent). On December 20, 2006, a joint investigation by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office and the U.S. attorney's office cleared the Lamont campaign of the hacking accusations. A spokesman for Kevin O'Connor, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said, "The investigation has revealed no evidence the problems the website experienced were the result of criminal conduct."


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Lieberman was backed by the Human Rights Campaign, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Defenders of Wildlife, and Planned Parenthood; he was endorsed by The Hartford Courant, The New Haven Register, and the Connecticut Post. Lamont was backed by the National Organization for Women, MoveOn.org, and Democracy for America; he was endorsed by The New York Times.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
Lamont won the primary with 51.79% of the vote to Lieberman's 48.21%. In his concession speech, Lieberman announced that he would keep his promise to run as an independent if he lost the Democratic primary.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Campaign
In the Republican primary, Alan Schlesinger drew fire in July when it was revealed that he had been gambling under an alias in order to avoid detection as a card counter. Schlesinger remained in the race despite calls to withdraw, ultimately becoming the Republican nominee when no other candidates entered the race.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, Democratic primary, Debate
On July 6, 2006, Lamont and Lieberman met in a televised debate held by a Connecticut NBC-TV affiliate and carried live nationally by C-SPAN. Journalists in the studio asked questions, with several videotaped questions by voters also included. The debate largely centered on the Iraq war and the candidates' records and experience.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Connecticut for Lieberman party
On June 12, Lamont began running radio ads promising if he lost the primary to endorse Lieberman and challenging Lieberman to make a similar pledge. Lieberman refused; his campaign manager, Sean Smith said, "Are we going to support Ned Lamont? Uh, no!"


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Connecticut for Lieberman party
On July 3 in Hartford, Lieberman announced that he would collect signatures to guarantee himself a position on the November ballot. Lieberman and Smith said that Lieberman would run as a "petitioning Democrat" and caucus with Senate Democrats if elected. On July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures to form a new political party, the Connecticut for Lieberman party.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Connecticut for Lieberman party
After Lieberman's announcement, independent polls showed him favored to win a plurality or outright majority of the vote in a three-way general election. The petition issue led to charges against the Lieberman campaign of political opportunism and lack of respect for the political process. Lieberman received strong support from many prominent conservative pundits and publications. "[H]is most vocal support came from places like The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Commentary Magazine; Sean Hannity, Bill Kristol and right-wing radio hosts cheered for his victory." Thus "Lieberman was able to run in the general election as the de facto Republican candidate—every major Republican office-holder in the state endorsed him—and to supplement that GOP base with strong support from independents."


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Connecticut for Lieberman party
On August 29, Lieberman began airing an ad, "Soothing", featuring images of a sunset over an ocean beach, while a female narrator says "you might enjoy a break from Ned Lamont's negative advertising. So just sit back and think about—good stuff." The Lamont campaign stood by its ads.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Connecticut for Lieberman party
There was some debate over what impact Lieberman's campaign would have on several tight House races in Connecticut. Some argued that Lieberman would bring out Republican supporters, who would vote for Lieberman and then cross over to support the Republican House candidates.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Democratic reaction
On August 9, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer issued the following joint statement on the Connecticut Senate race:


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Democratic reaction
The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont's candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run. Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Democratic reaction
According to The Hill, a Democratic aide to a high-ranking senator commented that Lieberman might be stripped of his Democratic privileges in the Senate. "At this point Lieberman cannot expect to just keep his seniority," said the aide. "He can't run against a Democrat and expect to waltz back to the caucus with the same seniority as before. It would give the view that the Senate is a country club rather than representative of a political party and political movement."


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Democratic reaction
On August 21, a group of New Haven Democrats cited Connecticut General Statutes section 9-61 in a complaint filed with the New Haven Democratic Registrar of Voters, Sharon Ferrucci, demanding that she purge Lieberman from the Democratic voter rolls. The statute reads in part: "Knowingly becoming a candidate for office on ticket of a new party automatically separates voter from his former party." Lieberman's campaign manager called it a "dirty political trick". Ferrucci rejected the complaint.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Waterbury statement controversy
Lamont campaign manager Tom Swan criticized the strongly pro-Lieberman city of Waterbury for alleged corruption, calling it a meeting place for "forces of evil". Waterbury's mayor, Michael Jarjura, endorsed Lieberman after the primary. Swan later apologized for the comment, saying it was aimed at former mayor Philip Giordano, who was arrested for sexual crimes with a minor, and former Governor John G. Rowland, a Waterbury native, who was indicted for corruption. Giordano and Rowland were forced to resign from their positions due to criminal activities. Jarjura failed to accept Swan's apology, so Lamont himself apologized for the comments. On August 22 Lamont announced former Democratic state chairman George Jepsen would be chair his general election campaign. He denied this was a demotion of Swan.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, "Al-Qaeda candidate"
On August 11, CNN Headline News anchor Chuck Roberts asked Hotline senior editor John Mercurio about the effects of the recent London terrorist plot on the 2006 Connecticut Senate race:


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, "Al-Qaeda candidate"
How does this factor into the Lieberman/Lamont contest? And might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the Al-Qaeda candidate?


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, "Al-Qaeda candidate"
You know, I owe you an apology. Last week, I led into an interview with a guest analyst and really botched the setup. The guest had wanted to discuss the Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman statements suggesting that terror groups—"Al Qaeda-type", to use Cheney's words—would be buoyed by your win, but I posed it badly, stupidly ad-libbing about "some saying Lamont is the Al-Qaeda candidate." No one, in fact, used that construction. Anyway, I wanted to correct the record, and I'm glad we had this chance to do it.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Impact of Lamont allies
Opinion columnist Robert Novak stated that Democratic leaders feared the visible role black activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson had at Lamont's primary night rally "might drive Republican, independent and even some Democratic voters into support of Lieberman's independent candidacy."


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Vets for Freedom
On August 15, 2006, the Stamford Advocate reported that an organization called Vets For Freedom had run full-page ads in the Hartford Courant in support of Lieberman. Lamont supporters claimed that Vets for Freedom was a de facto Republican organization and pointed out the similarities between it and the Swift Vets, who had connections to Republican officials.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Email controversy
In early September, Lamont attacked Lieberman's response to the 1998 scandal involving President Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, claiming Lieberman had created a "media spectacle". Lieberman responded by releasing an email Lamont sent him at the time, in which Lamont wrote he reluctantly supported Lieberman's stance critical of Clinton.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Email controversy
I reluctantly supported the moral outrage you expressed on September 3. I was reluctant because I thought it might make matters worse; I was reluctant because nobody expressed moral outrage over how Reagan treated his kids or Gingrich lied about supporting term limits (in other words, it was selective outrage); I was reluctant because the Starr inquisition is much more threatening to our civil liberties and national interest than Clinton's misbehavior ...


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Email controversy
Lamont then called for Lieberman to "move on" from publicly criticizing Clinton:


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Email controversy
You have expressed your outrage about the president's conduct; now stand up and use your moral authority to put an end to this snowballing mess. We all know the facts, a lot more than any of us care to know and should know. We've made up our minds that Clinton did wrong, confessed to his sin, maybe he should be censured for lying—and let's move on.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Email controversy
Lieberman's speech in 1998 had occurred after the President had gone on prime time television to admit his relationship with Lewinsky. Lieberman believes his speech defused partisan tension over a  "media spectacle" already present prior to the senator's speech.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Turncoat ads
In late September, Lamont's campaign aired a controversial television ad that depicted various actors portraying Connecticut voters calling Lieberman a turncoat. One ad suggested that voters should wear their coats inside out to protest Lieberman's campaign as an independent candidate.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Campaign, Turncoat ads
Lieberman responded with the "Blackboard" ad, where the words "Democrat" and "Republican" are separated by a line and Lieberman erased it, stressing his appeal was primarily to the state's largest voter bloc, unaffiliated voters.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Finances
Lieberman and Lamont fought a hotly contested and expensive primary battle for the Democratic nomination. Schlesinger won the Republican nomination at the Republican convention and raised and spent relatively little. Minor candidates' fundraising was almost nonexistent.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Finances
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, fundraising and cash on hand (as of dates specified) are as follows:


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Finances
In the days before the Democratic primary, the Lieberman campaign invoked the "millionaire rule", alleging that Lamont's personal campaign contributions had exceeded federal limits. Despite having more than double Lamont's funding, Lieberman accepted contributions up to a higher $6,300 limit per individual. The normal limit was $2,300. Between the primary and the general election, Lamont added over $2 million of his own money to his campaign effort. According to published reports, as of late October, Lamont had spent over $12.7 million of personal funds on his campaign, while Lieberman had raised over $14 million.


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Endorsements
* = candidate for U.S. Senate in his home state


2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, General election, Results
Lieberman won with approximately 50% of the vote, and served a six-year term from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2013. Exit polls showed that Lieberman won the vote of 33% of Democrats, 54% of independents and 70% of Republicans.


2006 United States Senate election in Delaware
The 2006 United States Senate election in Delaware was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Carper won re-election to a second term, by a landslide 40 points.


2006 United States Senate election in Florida
The 2006 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson won re-election to a second term.


2006 United States Senate election in Florida, General election, Campaign
The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which monitors political corruption, complained to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) in October 2006 that the Bacardi beverage company had illegally used corporate resources in support of a fundraising event for Nelson in 2005. CREW had previously filed a similar complaint concerning a Bacardi fundraising event for Republican Senator Mel Martinez, an event that raised as much as $60,000 for Martinez's campaign. The amended complaint alleged that, on both occasions, Bacardi violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations by soliciting contributions from a list of the corporation’s vendors.


2006 United States Senate election in Florida, General election, Endorsements
In a rare move, all twenty-two of Florida's daily newspapers supported Nelson, while none supported Harris in the general election.


2006 United States Senate election in Florida, General election, Results
As expected, Nelson was easily reelected. He won with 60.3% of the vote winning by 1,064,421 votes or 22.2%, and carried 57 of Florida's 67 counties. Nelson was projected the winner right when the polls closed at 7 P.M. EST.


2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii
The 2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Daniel Akaka won re-election to his third full term.


2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii, Democratic primary, Campaign
Case had stated that although he has the deepest respect for Daniel Akaka, Hawaii is in a time of transition with regard to the state's representation in Congress which requires that the state phase in the next generation to provide continuity in that service. He had warned the state would lose all clout in Washington if the state's two US Senators, both of whom are over 80 years old, leave office within a short time of each other. If a Senator were to die, Hawaii election law requires that the governor appoint a replacement of the same party.


2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii, Democratic primary, Campaign
Hawaii's other members of Congress, Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Sen. Daniel Inouye, pledged their support to Akaka.


2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii, Republican primary, Results
Hawaii State Representative Cynthia Thielen was selected to be the Republican nominee after Jerry Coffee, who had previously withdrawn his candidacy, won the primary.


2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii, General election, Results
Akaka won in all 4 Hawaii counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each area.


2006 United States Senate election in Indiana
The 2006 United States Senate election in Indiana was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican United States Senator Richard Lugar was re-elected to his sixth six-year term with 87.3% of the vote. He did not have a Democratic opponent and only faced opposition from a Libertarian candidate; this was the only U.S. Senate race in 2006 in which Democrats did not field a candidate. This would be the last successful race of Lugar's decades long political career. This is also the last time that Lake, Marion, Monroe, and Porter counties have voted for a Republican candidate for Senate.


2006 United States Senate election in Indiana, Campaign
Lugar faced no opposition from the Democratic Party, as they felt that he was unbeatable. The Indiana Senate race was the only one in 2006 in which the incumbent did not face a challenger from the other major party. Also running was Libertarian Steve Osborn. Osborn was from La Porte, Indiana and was an amateur radio operator. Exit polls projected a landslide victory for Lugar which was borne out by the result.


2006 United States Senate election in Indiana, Results, Overall
The election was not close as Lugar faced only a Libertarian candidate, as no Democrat filed to run. Osborn's best performance was in Starke County where he received just 23.7% of the vote. This is one of the best statewide showings for a third party candidate in Indiana.


2006 United States Senate election in Indiana, Results, By county
Lugar won all 92 of Indiana's counties by varying margins.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine
The 2006 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term. As of 2021, this is the last time Republicans won the Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in Maine.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Campaign
Snowe, who had been elected to both of her previous terms by approximately 2 to 1 margins, had never lost an election. Her success is accredited to her centrist Republican ideology, which resulted in high approval ratings. Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Jean Hay Bright, had never been elected to political office.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Campaign
Democrats' best hope for taking the seat was that Snowe would retire rather than run in 2006, but there was never any indication that Snowe seriously considered not running for re-election.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Campaign
The filing deadline for major party candidates was March 15, 2006. The primary was held June 13, 2006. Olympia Snowe was unopposed for the Republican nomination; Jean Hay Bright narrowly won the Democratic nod with 50.7% of the vote against Eric Mehnert.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Campaign
Hay Bright announced her candidacy in May 2005. Hay Bright was previously an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination to the House in 1994 and the Senate in 1996.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Campaign
The race had been called by  for the Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe 23 minutes after the polls had closed. Snowe won re-election by a greater margin than any U.S. Senator that cycle except Indiana's Richard Lugar, who faced only a Libertarian opponent.


2006 United States Senate election in Maine, Results
Snowe won in all of Maine's counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each region.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 2006 United States Senate election in Maryland was held Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Paul Sarbanes, Maryland's longest serving United States Senator, decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. Democratic nominee Ben Cardin, a U.S. Representative, won the open seat, defeating Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, Democratic primary, Campaign
Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and NAACP President, was the first to announce for the position, in March 2005. Ben Cardin, then a congressman since 1987, was the only other major candidate until September 2005, when Dennis F. Rasmussen, a former Baltimore County Executive, American University professor Allan Lichtman, and wealthy Potomac businessman Josh Rales entered the contest. Thirteen other candidates subsequently also entered the primary.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, Democratic primary, Campaign
As of August 2006, Cardin had raised more than $4.8 million and collected endorsements from a number of Democratic politicians, the AFL-CIO, and The Washington Post; Mfume had raised over $1.2 million and collected endorsements from the Maryland State Teachers Association, Progressive Maryland, former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, the National Organization for Women, and Maryland Congressmen Elijah Cummings and Al Wynn.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, Democratic primary, Campaign
On August 31, 2006, Maryland Public Television (MPT) and the League of Women Voters (LWV) sponsored a debate between the two leading Democratic Primary Candidates. The LWV of Maryland and MPT arbitrarily excluded most of the FEC qualified candidates from the only televised debates in the primary election. There were 18 candidates in this race, only 2, Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume, were allowed to debate, despite the strenuous protests of the excluded candidates. Lichtman, Rales, and Rasmussen petitioned MPT and LWV for inclusion in the debate, but received no response.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, Democratic primary, Campaign
On the day of the debate, Lichtman, his wife, and a campaign aide were arrested for trespassing while protesting during the taping of the debate. They were found not guilty on all charges. The judge in the case said it should never have been brought to court and was a gross violation of the parties' constitutional rights.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, Republican primary, Campaign
Michael S. Steele was expected to win the Republican primary, and the Baltimore Sun wrote the month before that he faced "only nominal opposition". Among a field of nine other candidates, the only Republican receiving sufficient media coverage was Daniel Vovak.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
This was Maryland's first open Senate seat since 1986, when junior Senator Barbara Mikulski was first elected.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Michael Steele won the Republican nomination after facing little competition in the contest for the Republican ticket. With mostly unknown secondary candidates, Steele received 87% of the Republican Primary vote.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Third District Congressional Representative Ben Cardin won the Democratic Party nomination after facing tough competition in the contest for the Democratic ticket from former congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, businessman Josh Rales, former Baltimore County Executive Dennis F. Rasmussen, and several lesser known candidates. Cardin received 44% of the Democratic Primary vote to 40% for Mfume, his next closest competitor. All other candidates received percentages only in the single digits.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Kevin Zeese, the nominee for the Green, Populist and Libertarian Parties, was also on the ballot.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Campaign
Though Steele lost the general election by 10% of the vote, a much wider margin than predicted, his was and remains the best showing for a Republican in a Senate race in Maryland since Charles Mathias, Jr. was reelected in 1980 with 66% of the vote.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Controversies
Both Steele and Cardin made controversial statements and advertising throughout the campaign.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Debates
The first debate of the race was held Tuesday, October 3, 2006. All three candidates were present and participated. The evening was hosted by the Baltimore Urban League, and moderated by Charles Robinson from Maryland Public Television and Doni Glover from BMORENEWS.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Debates
The first televised debate of the campaign was broadcast on News Channel 8 on the program "News Talk". All three candidates participated in the debate, and were moderated by Bruce DePuyt, the host of the program. There was no audience. This debate was widely reported because of the constant bickering between the three candidates, who often interrupted and talked over one another.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Debates
Another debate took place between Steele and Cardin on Sunday, October 29, 2006, as a part of the Meet The Press Senatorial debate series. Moderated by Tim Russert, the debate focused primarily on the Iraq War and stem-cell research, amongst other issues.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Debates
The three candidates all participated in the final debate of the campaign on Friday, November 3, 2006. The event was sponsored by the Collective Banking Group and held at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Tactics
Cardin primarily attacked Steele over his close relations with President Bush, including pictures of Bush and Steele in Cardin's TV ads. Steele focused on low taxes, less government spending, free markets and national security.


2006 United States Senate election in Maryland, General election, Results
Despite polls days before the election showing the race at a 3% margin, Cardin won by just over 10% with a 178,295-vote margin, although as of 2021, this is the closest a Republican has come to winning a U.S. Senate election in Maryland since Charles Mathias was reelected in 1980. Steele conceded defeat at 9:02 PM EST. On the same day, incumbent Republican governor Bob Ehrlich lost reelection to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.


2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts
The 2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his eighth full term. This would be Kennedy's last election to the Senate; he died three years later of brain cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2008. Senator Kennedy was the 4th longest-serving Senator in U.S. history, having served for nearly 47 years.


2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts, Republican primary, Campaign
At the Massachusetts Republican Party Convention Kenneth Chase received the official endorsement with a majority of delegates, though both candidates qualified for the September primary. Former White House Chief-of-Staff Andrew Card also received 3 votes.


2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts, General election, Results
Kennedy captured every county in the state, winning at least 62% in each region. Kennedy served his ninth and final term until his death on August 25, 2009 (here, the completion of John Kennedy's unexpired term is considered to be Ted Kennedy's first term).


2006 United States Senate election in Michigan
The 2006 United States Senate election in Michigan was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow won re-election to a second term.


2006 United States Senate election in Michigan, Campaign
Economic issues took front and center in the campaign, as Michigan's unemployment rate was one of the highest in the nation. In July 2006, unemployment in Michigan stood at approximately 7%, compared with a 4.7% rate nationwide. Pessimism about the state's economic future had left Michigan ranked 49th nationally between 2000 and 2005 in retaining young adults. Since its peak, Detroit had lost over a million people. Bouchard claimed that the incumbent had accomplished nothing, dubbing her "Do-Nothing Debbie." President George W. Bush came to Michigan and raised $1 million for Bouchard.


2006 United States Senate election in Michigan, Results
From a long way out Stabenow looked like she might be vulnerable. President Bush even came to Michigan to campaign for Bouchard, raising over $1,000,000 dollars for him. However Bouchard never won a single poll. By October the Republican Party, started taking resources out of Michigan to focus on closer races, essentially ceding the race to Stabenow. Stabenow would go on to win the election easily, capturing nearly 57% of the vote. Stabenow did well throughout Michigan, but performed better in heavily populated cities like Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Kalamazoo. Bouchard did win Grand Rapids, a typical Republican area. He also won in many rural areas around the state. However Bouchard failed to put a dent in Stabenow's lead, largely due to her strong performance in heavily populated areas. Bouchard conceded to Stabenow at 9:58 P.M. EST. The following results are official.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota
The 2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 7, 2006. One-term incumbent DFL U.S. Senator Mark Dayton announced in February 2005 that he would retire instead of seeking a second term. The primary elections took place on September 12, 2006. DFL nominee Amy Klobuchar won the open seat.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, DFL primary, Campaign
Klobuchar gained the early endorsement of the majority of DFL state legislators in Minnesota. A poll taken of DFL state delegates showed Klobuchar beating her then closest opponent, Patty Wetterling, 66% to 15%. As of June 30, 2005, Klobuchar had more cash on hand than any other candidate, nearly $1,100,000.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, DFL primary, Campaign
Klobuchar was endorsed by EMILY's List on September 29, 2005. On January 20, 2006, Wetterling dropped out of the race and endorsed Klobuchar.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, DFL primary, Campaign
Former Senate candidate and prominent lawyer Mike Ciresi, who was widely seen as the only other serious potential DFL candidate, indicated on February 7, 2006 that he would not enter the race. That removal of her most significant potential competitor for the DFL nomination was viewed as an important boost for Klobuchar.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, DFL primary, Campaign
The only other serious candidate for the DFL endorsement was veterinarian Ford Bell. Bell, a staunch liberal, ran on a platform of implementing single-payer healthcare and immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Klobuchar won the official DFL endorsement on June 9, 2006. Bell dropped out of the race on July 10 citing inability to compete financially and also endorsed Klobuchar.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, Republican primary, Campaign
Kennedy had faced potential challenges from former U.S. Senator Rod Grams, as well as U.S. Representative Gil Gutknecht, but both men were persuaded by national GOP leaders to run for the House instead. (Grams lost to Representative Jim Oberstar, while Gutknecht lost his reelection bid to Tim Walz.)


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, General election, Campaign
Kennedy's routine support of President George W. Bush in House votes appeared to be a central issue for Democrats in the campaign. In June 2006, allegations were made that many references to and photos of Bush had been removed from Kennedy's official U.S. House website; in rebuttal, Republicans said that there were 72 references to Bush on the website and that the changes noted by critics had been made some time ago, as part of the normal updating process.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, General election, Campaign
Ben Powers was the only ballot-qualified candidate not invited to appear on Minnesota Public Television's Almanac program, despite Powers's offer to fill the space left unfilled by Klobuchar's decision not to appear with Kennedy and Fitzgerald on the program. Green candidate Michael Cavlan appeared on the program twice during the campaign as a special guest.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, General election, Polling
After the release of the  on September 17, 2006, showing Klobuchar ahead by 24%, Kennedy's campaign issued a statement  from Joe Pally, the campaign's communications director. He claimed that the margin was exaggerated because of bias by the Star Tribune and that the poll "is clearly more about discouraging Kennedy supporters than on reflecting the true status of one of the most closely contested Senate races in the country.". This press release came in the wake of news that the Republican party was scaling back funding for Kennedy's election campaign to shore up campaigns in states seen as winnable.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, General election, Polling
Kennedy's campaign frequently accused the Star Tribune of bias in favor of Klobuchar, whose father was an editorial columnist and sportswriter for the paper until his retirement. A subsequent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed a similar lead for Klobuchar and the St. Paul Pioneer Press also showed Klobuchar with a 15% lead in September. Klobuchar won the November 7 election by more than 20 percentage points.


2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota, General election, Results
The race was, as expected, not close, with Klobuchar winning decisively. She did well in major cities, such as Minneapolis and St. Paul, while Kennedy did well only in smaller, less populated counties. The turnout was high, although not unusual for Minnesota, one of the highest voter turnout states. Official turnout came in at 70.64%.


2006 United States Senate election in Mississippi
The 2006 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Trent Lott won re-election to a fourth term.


2006 United States Senate election in Mississippi, General election, Campaign
Lott ran for re-election without facing any opposition in his party's primary. While it had been speculated that Lott might retire after his home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, he instead chose to run for re-election. Fleming is an African American, which represents 37% of the state's population. However, no African American has ever been elected to statewide office. The last black U.S. Senator was Hiram Revels, who was appointed and took office in 1870. Fleming got little help from the DSCC, which only donated $15,000 to his campaign.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri
The 2006 United States Senate election in Missouri was held November 7, 2006, to decide who would serve as senator for Missouri between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2013. The incumbent was Republican Jim Talent. Talent was elected in a special election in 2002 when he narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Jean Carnahan. Carnahan had been appointed to the Senate seat following the posthumous election of her husband Mel Carnahan, who had died in a plane crash shortly before the 2000 election. Talent's Democratic opponent was Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill. Early on the morning of November 8, Talent conceded defeat to McCaskill, having faced considerable political headwinds. Talent lost the election with 47% of the vote, to 50% of the vote for McCaskill.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors
The election was always expected to be very close, which seems fitting for a seat that has changed hands twice, both by very narrow margins, within the last six years. In 2000, the late Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, a Democrat, narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft 50% to 48%. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash before election day, so his wife Jean Carnahan was appointed to the seat after the election. Two years later in a special election held for the seat, incumbent Senator Jean Carnahan lost an even closer election to former Congressman Talent, 50% to 49%.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, State politics
Missouri was seen as the nation's bellwether state throughout the 20th century. It had voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1900, except for 1956 (when the state narrowly favored Adlai Stevenson over Dwight D. Eisenhower). Missouri's bellwether status was due to the fact that it not only voted for the electoral victor, but that its returns usually mirrored national returns.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, State politics
The state itself is a geographically central state, bordered by both the edges of Southern and Midwestern regions. In statewide contests for much of the 20th century, Missouri favored the Democratic Party. In recent elections, the Republican Party (GOP) has emerged in statewide contests. The election of 2004 was an important one; as George W. Bush was re-elected he carried Missouri. But this time his margin in the state was greater than it was nationwide. Bush won the Presidency 51% to 48%, he carried Missouri 53% to 46%.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, State politics
This trend had begun in 2000, when Bush lost the national popular vote to Al Gore 47% to 48% but still won Missouri, 50% to 47%. Bush's victory also saw Republicans triumph in several statewide contests; Senator Kit Bond was re-elected by a decisive 56% to 43% margin and Matt Blunt won the election for Governor, narrowly defeating state auditor Claire McCaskill 51% to 48%. The GOP also captured control of the state legislature for the first time in eighty years.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Early campaign
Talent, anticipating a tough re-election battle and attempting to dissuade challengers, had accumulated a large campaign fund. For most of 2005, he had no opposition. State Senator Chuck Graham had briefly entered the race early in the year, but dropped out soon after. However, on August 30, 2005, Democrat Claire McCaskill announced her intention to run for Talent's Senate seat.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Early campaign
McCaskill started with a large financial disadvantage, but she was also an experienced candidate with high name recognition. McCaskill had run two successful campaigns for state auditor. She was also a candidate for governor in 2004, when she defeated the incumbent Democratic Governor Bob Holden in the primary election but lost with 48% of the vote in the general election.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Early campaign
Both Talent and McCaskill faced unknowns in their respective primaries on August 8, 2006, and defeated them soundly.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Early campaign
Talent started statewide advertising on August 1, 2006, forcing some observers to suggest that Talent was on the ropes and therefore needed to reassert his image (damaged recently by his "flip-flopping" on stem cell research, his opposition to raising the minimum wage and a general feeling of antipathy from the body politic regarding his lack of notable achievements while in the Senate) and pull ahead in a statistical dead heat.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Early campaign
McCaskill and Talent agreed to debate each other on Meet the Press on October 8, 2006.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, Significance
The Missouri contest was seen as vitally important to control of the United States Senate; as a toss-up election between two strong candidates, the race was expected to attract a lot of interest as well as money spent on ads and turning out supporters. If Talent won, then a Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate depended upon victories in Tennessee, where the Republican Bob Corker won, and Virginia, where Democrat Jim Webb won; the Democrats needed to win six seats to take control of the chamber with 51 seats. To do this, they would need to retain their 19 incumbent seats, win the four Republican-held seats of Montana, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania (where Democratic chances seemed above 50%, and Democrats won all 4.) and two of the following three "toss-up" races: Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions
A June 19–22, 2006 Research 2000 poll showed Talent's favorability rating was 47%-46%, with 7% having no opinion. Soon after a St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll was released showing McCaskill with 49% favorability to Talent's 43%.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions
It is believed that statewide ballot issues drove the November 2006 vote.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions
Talent was on the opposite of the majority of voters in this poll on just about every issue: 66% of Missouri voters favored raising the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour; 62% of Missouri voters favored raising taxes to replace Medicaid funding cut by the current Republican Governor, Matt Blunt; 54% opposed a law that would require all Missourians to show a photo ID before they vote; 58% favored campaign donation limitations; and 66% favored restoring Medicaid coverage to about 90,000 Missourians who lost coverage when Blunt and the Republican legislature tightened eligibility requirements.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions
Perhaps most importantly, 62% favored a ballot proposal that would allow all types of embryonic stem cell research allowed under federal law - a measure Talent had recently announced that he was against.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions, Embryonic stem cell research
Since joining the Senate in 2002, Talent had supported federal legislation that would ban stem cell research. This included co-sponsoring a bill (S.658) sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback which would ban all forms of human cloning, including the cloning and destruction of human embryos.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions, Embryonic stem cell research
On February 10, 2006, Talent withdrew his support for the bill, citing the need to balance research and protection against human cloning. This move followed criticism by Talent's Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Claire McCaskill, as well as pressure from Missouri business interests that oppose restrictions on stem cell research. Though this reversal was widely criticized as being due to politics, Talent told the Associated Press, "The technology is changing all the time and so I'm always considering whether there is a better way to strike the balance.". Talent suggests that moral concerns might be put to rest through a possible future scientific breakthrough - replicating embryonic stem cells without the use of cloned embryos.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions, Embryonic stem cell research
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 2 would amend the state constitution and allow, in line with federal law, stem cell research and treatment. On May 1, 2006, Talent announced his opposition to the proposed ballot-initiative. Stem cell research and treatment is working up to be a divisive issue for many Republicans and is taking a particular prominence in Missouri. In the senate, he subsequently voted against expanding federal funds for embryonic stem cell research in July 2006.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Factors, November ballot propositions, Minimum wage
Proposition B would raise the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 per hour, or to the level of the federal minimum wage if that is higher, with subsequent adjustments for inflation. This is another issue where Talent was opposed to majority opinion in Missouri, which Democrats hoped would hurt him at the polls.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Fundraising
Talent had a huge cash-on-hand advantage over McCaskill. Because of the way FEC filing works, Talent's numbers include the money he raised during his 2002 special election campaign. Totals are through July 19.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Overview
Actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, frequently appears in political advertising to support candidates with a history of supporting embryonic stem cell research. In 2004, Fox appeared in a television commercial for Republican Arlen Specter's 2004 Senate campaign. In the commercial, sponsored by Specter's re-election campaign, Fox says Specter "gets it" and Specter's voice is heard saying "there is hope."


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Overview
In late October, he appeared in a   for Claire McCaskill. Her opponent, Talent, was against both taxpayer- and privately funded embryonic stem cell research, and in the commercial Fox correctly stated that Talent wanted to criminalize such research.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Overview
The commercial made national headlines. The commercial had a statistical impact on the way people voted.


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Reactions
Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio talk show host, commented on the TV commercial, saying that Fox was "really shameless" and that he was "either off his medication or acting." Limbaugh was speculating that Fox may have intentionally not taken his medication. According to the Washington Post, Limbaugh also told his listeners that Fox was "exaggerating the effects of the disease... he's moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act."


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Reactions
Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist, stated, "Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease. Any other interpretation is misinformed."


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Reactions
Limbaugh followed up on October 25, 2006, saying, "When you wade into political life you have every right to say what you want, but you cannot in turn argue that no one has the right to take you on."


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Commercial controversy, Reactions
On October 26, Fox said, "The irony of it is that I was too medicated." He added to Katie Couric that his jumpy condition, as he spoke to her, reflected "a dearth of medication — not by design. I just take it, and it kicks in when it kicks in." He further laughed, "That's funny — the notion that you could calculate it for effect."


2006 United States Senate election in Missouri, Results
When the polls closed in Missouri on election night the race was, as expected, too close to call. With 85% of the vote in and with still no call, McCaskill claimed victory. At the time McCaskill declared victory, she was ahead by a vote margin of 867,683 to Talent's 842,251 votes; in percentage terms, with 85% of the vote in, McCaskill led Talent, 49% to 48%. Finally, at 11:38 P.M. Central Time the Associated Press called McCaskill as the winner. St. Louis County, adjacent to St. Louis, and Jackson County, home of Kansas City, are probably what pushed McCaskill over the finish line.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana
The 2006 United States Senate election in Montana was held November 7, 2006. The filing deadline was March 23; the primary was held June 6. Incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns ran for re-election to a fourth term, but lost to Democrat Jon Tester by a margin of 0.87%, or 3,562 votes out of 406,505 cast. This made the election the second-closest race of the 2006 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in Virginia.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, Background
Burns was first elected as a United States Senator from Montana in 1988, when he defeated Democratic incumbent John Melcher in a close race, 52% to 48%. Burns was re-elected 62.4% to 37.6%, over Jack Mudd in the Republican Revolution year of 1994. In 2000, Burns faced the well-financed Brian Schweitzer whom he beat 50.6% to 47.2%.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, Background
In 2000, George W. Bush carried Montana 58% to 33% in the race for President, but Burns won by 3.4%. Since the direct election of Senators began in 1913, Burns is only the second Republican Montana has elected to the U.S. Senate. Also, for thirty-two straight years, 1952 to 1984, Montana elected only Democratic Senators.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, Background
Burns' involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal made him vulnerable. A SurveyUSA poll released in March 2006 found that 38% of Montanans approved of him, while 52% disapproved of him. Polls against leading Democratic candidates had him below his challengers.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, Democratic primary, Campaign
On May 31, 2006, Richards, citing the closeness of the race, and his own position (third) in the polls, withdrew from the race, and threw his support to Tester. Morrison started off strong in the race for the Democratic nomination for Senator, collecting $1.05 million as of the start of 2006, including $409,241 in the last three months of 2005. but Morrison’s advantages in fundraising and name identification did not translate into a lead in the polls. Later, the race was called a "deadlock," but Tester continued to gather momentum.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Campaign
The race was expected to be close, due to Burns' narrow margin of victory in 2000, when he significantly underperformed Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush, and political scandal that he had been involved in. Republican incumbents everywhere were facing more challenging races in 2006 due to the waning popularity of the Republican-controlled Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush. In July 2006, the Rasmussen report viewed Burns as the "second most vulnerable Senator seeking re-election this year", after Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Campaign
Senator Conrad Burns of Montana faced a strong challenge from Brian Schweitzer in 2000, being re-elected by 3.4% in a state that went for Bush twice by margins of over 20%. This, combined with the increasing strength of the state Democratic party and accusations of ethical issues related to the Jack Abramoff scandal, made this a highly competitive race.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Campaign
On July 27, Burns was forced to apologize after he confronted out of state firefighters who were preparing to leave Montana after helping contain a summer forest fire and directly questioned their competence and skill, remarks for which he was strongly criticized.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Campaign
On August 31, in a letter faxed to the office of Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, Burns urged the governor, a Democrat, to declare a fire state of emergency and activate the Montana Army National Guard for firefighting. Schweitzer had already declared such a state of emergency on July 11 — thus, activating the Montana Army National Guard. He issued a second declaration on August 11. A Burns spokesman said the senator was "pretty sure" Schweitzer had already issued such a disaster declaration, but just wanted to make sure. "The genesis of the letter was just to make sure that all the bases were covered," Pendleton said. "This is not a political football. It’s just a cover-the-bases letter and certainly casts no aspersions on the governor."


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Results
Due to errors with polling machines, the Montana count was delayed well into Wednesday, November 8. The race was too close to call throughout the night and many pundits predicted the need for a recount. After a very close election, on November 9, incumbent Conrad Burns conceded defeat.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Results
Just before 11:00 AM (MST) on November 8, Jon Tester was declared Senator-elect for Montana in USA Today. At 2:27 PM EST on November 8, CNN projected that Jon Tester would win the race.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Results
Under Montana law, if the margin of defeat is more than 0.25% but less than 0.5%, the losing candidate can request a recount if they pay for it themselves. However, this election did not qualify for a recount because the margin was larger than 0.5%. Burns conceded the race on November 9, and congratulated Tester on his victory.


2006 United States Senate election in Montana, General election, Results
The race was the closest Senate election of 2006 in terms of absolute vote difference; the closest race by percentage difference was the Virginia Senate election.


2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska
The 2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson won reelection to a second term, beating Republican Pete Ricketts by 63.9% of the vote to 36.1%. Ricketts would later become Governor after winning the 2014 gubernatorial election.


2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska
As of 2021, this is the last statewide race in Nebraska to be won by a Democrat.


2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska, Republican primary, Campaign
Since Ricketts was a millionaire, he could finance his own campaign. His opponents could not raise enough money to keep up. Kramer raised $330,000 and Stenberg raised $246,000 in 2005.


2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska, General election, Campaign
The primary election was held May 9, 2006. Pete Ricketts won the Republican nomination with 48% of the vote. Ben Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Nelson was elected in 2000 by a margin of 51% to 49% after serving as the state's governor for two terms. Nelson, considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, was the lone Democrat in Nebraska's Congressional delegation. This election was one of the most expensive in Nebraska history. In 2005, Ben Nelson raised $3.9 million for his re-election campaign.


2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska, General election, Campaign
Pete Ricketts contributed $14.35 million of his own money to his campaign; he raised an additional $485,000 in contributions. The race also attracted national attention and generated several high-level campaign appearances. President George W. Bush appeared at a rally for Ricketts on November 5, 2006, in Grand Island, while then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared at a fundraiser for Nelson and other Nebraska Democrats on May 5, 2006 in Omaha. However, he won re-election by a large margin.


2006 United States Senate election in Nevada
The 2006 United States Senate election in Nevada was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican John Ensign won re-election to a second term.


2006 United States Senate election in Nevada, General election, Campaign
Popular Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman had said in January that he would probably run, but in late April, he decisively ruled that out. Goodman did not file by the May 12, 2006 deadline. Carter's advantages included his formidable speaking abilities and kinship with a former U.S. President. On the other hand, Ensign was also considered to be an effective speaker and as of the first quarter of 2006, held an approximately 5-1 advantage over Carter in cash-on-hand.


2006 United States Senate election in Nevada, General election, Results
Ensign won a majority of the votes in every county in the state, with his lowest percentage at 53%.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey
The 2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was elected to represent New Jersey in the United States Senate for a six-year term which ended in January 2013. The seat was previously held by Democrat Jon Corzine, who resigned in January 2006 after being elected Governor of New Jersey. After Corzine was sworn in Governor, he appointed Menendez, then a U.S. Representative, to the vacant Senate seat. Menendez was challenged by Republican State Senator Thomas Kean, Jr. and seven other candidates. Filing for the primary closed on April 10, 2006. The primary election was held June 6, 2006. Menendez became the first Hispanic to hold a U.S. Senate seat from New Jersey, and was the first Latino elected to statewide office in the state.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
Ginty represented the conservative wing of the New Jersey Republican party. Kean is a moderate, who is the son of the former Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean. Important factors in Kean's primary victory were his father's name recognition, along with Kean's self-described persona as a clean-cut corruption fighter.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
A showdown between Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) conservatives and a group of insurgent moderate Republican critics ignited into a shoving match between supporters, with Kean temporarily refusing to accept the BCRO's endorsement of his candidacy, and refusing to run with the BCRO slate of nominees for the offices of County Executive, Surrogate, and Freeholder. As a result, Ginty was drafted by Bergen County conservatives to fill out the conservative slate of candidates in Bergen County for the Republican primary. Kean eventually accepted the BCRO endorsement.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
Ginty's entrance into the primary complicated matters for Kean, who had to consider moving to the right to secure the Republican nomination, something that would likely hamper his chances of defeating Menendez in November. Kean's supporters argued there is virtually no chance for an anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey, where 66% of the voters are self-identified as pro-abortion and polls illustrate a distinct majority support gay marriage.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
On March 20, 2006, Kean arrived late to a fundraising event for his campaign, after featured guest Vice President Dick Cheney had left, which some accused of him doing deliberately to avoid photographs of the two, together, that could be printed in the media.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
On March 27, 2006, at a news conference billed as a "major announcement", Kean called for state and federal tax cuts, asking Menendez and Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine to support them. In response, Matthew Miller, a spokesman for Menendez, said the U.S. senator supports "balanced tax cuts," not just ones that benefit the wealthiest Americans while expanding national debt.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
On April 1, 2006, at the Middlesex County Republican Convention, Kean won the endorsement for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate (in other words, Kean was chosen as the county organization's recommended candidate for the June primary) over Ginty by a vote of 79% to 21%. However, the deadline for local Republicans to register to attend the convention had passed before Ginty announced his candidacy.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
The New Jersey Right To Life Political Action Committee endorsed Ginty on April 27, 2006.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
On May 2, 2006, Ginty publicly called on Kean to stop soliciting the endorsement of the Sierra Club. Ginty said Kean should not seek their endorsement because the Sierra Club is an "environmental extremist group with a deep history of involvement in left-wing causes".


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Republican primary, Campaign
In early May, Ginty announced that he favors oil exploration in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), something that Kean and Menendez both opposed.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
The biggest factors in the New Jersey Senate race may have had little to do with the candidates involved and more to do with Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine and President George W. Bush.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
In mid-summer, Jon Corzine and the Democratic-controlled state legislature held a brief shutdown of state government, which ultimately resulted in a sales tax increase, among other things.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
In a September 2006 poll, SurveyUSA found that Governor Jon Corzine received an approval rate of only 43%, with 48% of the state disapproving. Since Menendez had been appointed by Corzine, some pundits argued that this would be a resonating factor with a number of voters.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
According to a separate September 2006 poll, SurveyUSA found that the state of New Jersey had a rather high disapproval rating for Republican President George W. Bush, with 64% disapproving and only 32% approving. This led some to argue that voters would take their discontent with Bush out on Kean in the November election.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
Indeed, some pollsters demonstrated that concerns over the Iraq War and discontent with President Bush solidified the Democratic base in October's advertising blitz, and won over enough independents to seal off the fate of the Republican nominee. On the eve of the election, Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll reported that 65% likely voters said that the US invasion of Iraq was a mistake, "including nine of ten Democrats and six of ten independents."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
Observers also pointed out that "from the beginning, [Menendez] made much of his 2002 vote against the Iraq War Resolution, often referring to it as one of the most important votes of his career. He made it clear as well that he intended to make the race a referendum on the President."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
Others attributed Kean's early strong showing in the polls of this blue state to uninformed voters confusing the three-year state senator with his father, the popular former governor and 9/11 Commission chairman.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Factors
Because of Kean's perceived liberalism on social issues, he has been labeled by some conservatives as a Republican in Name Only (RINO) .


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
On June 13, 2006, Kean held a fundraiser in Ocean County featuring First Lady Laura Bush. It was here that both Senator Kean and Mrs. Bush pointed out that Kean is not George W. Bush, claiming that Senator Menendez seems to confuse the two.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
On June 16, 2006 at a New Jersey Association of Counties speaking event in Atlantic City, Kean and his aides beat a hasty retreat from the ballroom engagement and "stampeded" into an elevator in an abortive attempt to avoid the press, only to exit on the same floor as they had entered. Kean declined to answer questions about the scathing attacks on his integrity which his opponent had delivered minutes earlier, instead opting to repeat "a few slogans."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
In late June, the Associated Press reported that Kean's campaign was planning a "Swift Boat"-style film accusing Menendez of involvement in a New Jersey mob-connected kickback scheme "despite public records and statements disputing that claim." The AP article noted that "[f]our former federal prosecutors who oversaw the case have said Menendez was never involved in any wrongdoing." The airing of unsubstantiated [by whom?] allegations years or even decades old is a hallmark of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign attack style, which gained notoriety during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
In mid-September, The Star-Ledger reported that Sen. Menendez had declined a national debate with Kean on the popular Sunday morning talk-show, Meet the Press. A Menendez spokesperson stated that the incumbent Democrat would prefer to focus on local citizens and press. Menendez did agree to take place in three locally aired debates with Kean, which will be aired between October 7–17. Kean withdrew from one of the scheduled debates to which he had previously committed, an October 14, 2006, debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters, insisting on a national TV debate as a condition of his participation.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Campaign
Both candidates have agreed to participate in a virtual debate sponsored by the nonpartisan Hall Institute of Public Policy - New Jersey which provides "an unprecedented opportunity for candidates and citizens to engage in an interactive forum on the important issues confronting" New Jersey. Beginning in July and running through Election Day in November, the institute will submit questions to the candidates and then post their responses on its website. As of October 6, 2006, responses to six questions have been posted (see External Links below).


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
The Kean headquarters was vandalized during the night before the general election. Vandals chained and locked the doors to the headquarters and broke off keys within the locks, attempting to hinder the Kean campaign. The Menendez campaign denied any involvement.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
During 26 years in politics, Menendez has faced some unflattering editorials and reports in local newspapers. In 2005, op-eds in The New York Times and the Star-Ledger have complained of bossism by Menendez, claiming he runs Hudson County as a political machine. The Bergen Record has made an issue of his campaign spending, claiming the majority of his recent spending is not for traditional campaign activities such as advertising. Despite the allegations noted above, Menendez had never been charged or prosecuted for any crime related to his 26-year political career. Indeed, a June 2006 article in The New York Times, reported that the charges of ethical misconduct conflict with historical accounts and records which portray Menendez as crusading against the very corruption of which he stands accused.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
On August 27, 2006, two Republican state lawmakers filed an ethics complaint against Menendez, alleging he broke conflict-of-interest rules when he collected more than $300,000 in rent over a period of nine years from a nonprofit agency which he aided in winning millions of dollars from federal funds. Menendez questioned the timing of the complaints, based on events of 14 years ago, so close to the election: "We have seen an orchestrated series of leaks, bogus ethics complaints and outright fabrications since the beginning of this campaign."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
The ethics complaint stated that Menendez's actions while a Congressman violated the ethics rules of the House of Representatives. For his part, Menendez maintains that he received verbal clearance from the House Ethics Committee in 1994 before entering a lease agreement with the organization. On September 8, Menendez identified Mark Davis as the committee lawyer whom he consulted. However, Roll Call reported that Davis left the ethics committee in 1993, prompting Menendez campaign spokesman Matt Miller to offer an alternate explanation:  "It was his recollection that he talked to him about this, but it must have been someone else.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
It was 12 years ago." Governor Corzine, who appointed Menendez in January to serve out the remaining year of his own Senate term, said the investigation "has the appearance of being less than objective". Meanwhile, in response to charges of Republican complicity in spurring the investigation, Tom Kean said his campaign "absolutely" did not have any contact at any point with the U.S. Attorney's Office regarding the probe.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
As of September 2008, the NJ US Attorney's repeated and multiple investigations of Menendez's alleged corruption have still failed to generate a single indictment.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Menendez
On September 28, 2006, The Star-Ledger reported that Sen. Menendez had fired his closest political adviser for seeking favors on behalf of then-Representative Menendez. A tape recorded in 1999 reveals the adviser, Donald Scarinci, asking a Hudson County psychiatrist named Oscar Sandoval to hire another physician as a favor to Menendez. He also states that he had helped Davila Colon, who worked in Menendez's congressional office from 1992–1997, get a job with Carl Goldberg, a developer and big fundraiser for Bob Menendez. A spokesperson for the Menendez campaign stated that "Scarinci was using Menendez's name without his authorization or his knowledge."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
On September 15, 2006, The Star-Ledger reported, "the same day state Sen. Tom Kean voted twice to let Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey keep a $40 million tax exemption, he collected $13,300 in contributions for his U.S. Senate race from 17 company executives and their family members. Kean cast the votes on the final day of the fight over the 2005 state budget and on the day of those votes, records show Kean received $13,300 in campaign donations from the Horizon executives, including $4,100 from Horizon CEO and president William Marino and his wife, Paula. The news report noted, "Aides to Kean said there was no connection between the votes and the contributions."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
Democratic-advocacy site Blue Jersey alleged that a member of the Kean campaign was posing as a disillusioned Democrat when posting comments critical of Menendez on the site. The Kean campaign denied the charges, but major newspapers (such as The New York Times and the Star-Ledger) reported that the IP address used to make the comments was identical to one used by Kean campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker  in official emails. The Kean campaign could not explain this discrepancy, but both Hazelbaker and Kean denied that she had been involved. The same IP address was also used to make multiple edits to Wikipedia pages linking Menendez to the accusations of corruption that were a centerpiece of Kean's campaign strategy.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
The Kean campaign also drew scrutiny over its relationship with opposition researcher Christopher Lyon. Kean staffers denied that Lyon worked for Kean directly. A The New York Times article about Lyon's role includes Hazelbaker's response to the issue:


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
"I think the selective outrage here is a little laughable," said Hazelbaker, a Kean spokeswoman, who added that Mr. Menendez's former law partner, who was at his side when he was sworn in as a senator, had been convicted of dealing cocaine.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
According to The New York Times, Kean  was defeated in part because he "built a campaign around his portrayal of Mr. Menendez as a shady, self-dealing, machine-produced Hudson County boss who hangs out with criminals. When asked about his views on Social Security or the Iraq war, Mr. Kean frequently mentioned that his opponent was 'under federal criminal investigation.' " In a poll,  NJ voters tended to blame Kean rather than Menendez for negative campaigning.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Controversies, Kean
A later NY Times editorial stated, "The Republican candidate, Thomas Kean Jr., based his campaign almost exclusively on negative ads and attack-dog accusations against his Democratic opponent, Robert Menendez. For a while, it looked like the strategy might pay off, but in the end Senator Menendez was elected by a comfortable margin. Voters in several polls criticized Mr. Kean's strategy."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Issues
According to one observer, the Democratic candidate framed his race as referendum on the Republican president and the US military involvement in Iraq. Menendez, while still in the House of Representatives, voted against the Iraq War Resolution of 2002. He subsequently argued that, "even knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction, Tom Kean Jr. has continually said he supports the war in Iraq and would have voted for it." Kean responded that Menendez "has traditionally been on the fringe of his own party.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Issues
The case [for war] was clearly made with people who had far better information than he did." Kean's strategy was "to make the race on state level issues: corruption and taxes." But though voters thought the state was headed in the wrong direction, the Democratic governor's approval ratings among likely voters was strong headed into the November election.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Issues
The Sierra Club, which had endorsed both candidates in some of their past races, endorsed Menendez for the Senate, citing his "15-year, extremely strong record on many federal [environmental] issues -- often achieving a League of Conservation Voters voting record of 100%."


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Issues
The New Jersey Educational Association PAC's Operating Committee (NJEA PAC) also endorsed Menendez.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Polling
Since the publication of an August 4, 2006, Rasmussen poll showing Menendez ahead, 44% to Kean's 38%, Kean appeared to surge into the lead according to subsequent Zogby, Monmouth, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, and Fairleigh Dickinson polls, outpolling Menendez by varying differences within the margin of error. However, on the heels of an advertising blitz, Menendez has reclaimed the lead in the most recent FDU, Mason-Dixon, Gallup, and Zogby polling. In light of to the race's volatility, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, Congressional Quarterly, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted the race from "Leans Democratic" to "Toss-Up" or "No Clear Favorite" in their early September revisions despite the state's historically strong Democratic tilt.


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Polling
New Jerseyans had not seen a summer poll with a Republican leading in a race for United States Senator since 1972, when incumbent Clifford Case led former Congressman Paul Krebs by a 44%-22% margin. (Case won the race 63%-35%.) Here are some past summer polling numbers from the Eagleton Institute archive:


2006 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Polling
A September 2006 SurveyUSA poll showed Menendez's approval rating at 40% and disapproval rating at 40% with 20% undecided, resulting in a net approval of 0%.


2006 United States Senate election in New Mexico
The 2006 United States Senate election in New Mexico took place on November 7, 2006. The primaries were held June 6, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Jeff Bingaman won re-election to a fifth term in a landslide.


2006 United States Senate election in New Mexico, Republican primary, Campaign
Pfeffer announced on August 23, 2005, that he would be entering the primary. A former Democrat, he supported George W. Bush in 2004 and became a Republican in 2005. In his campaign announcement, Pfeffer focused mainly on border controls with Mexico.


2006 United States Senate election in New Mexico, Republican primary, Campaign
He criticised Bingaman in comparison to his own support for reform of the Social Security system and the Iraq War as well as U.S. relations with China, saying "With all due respect, I do not believe the present occupier of the junior seat from New Mexico is doing all that can and should be done on these fronts," he said of Bingaman. "I believe I can do a better job..." Pfeffer also commented that he would have a hard time raising an amount equivalent to Senator Bingaman, a problem faced by any of the latter's potential challengers.