The Senate elections of 2006 were critical. The Democrats needed to capture six additional Senate seats to stop the George Bush agenda. Did the Democrats do it in the Senate elections of 2006? Or did the Republicans hold onto the senate?
The good news for the Democrats is that they succeeded in capturing the six needed Senate seats and now control the U.S. Senate.
One-third of U.S. Senate seats were up for election in the midterm senate elections of 2006. Since senators serve for six years a term, their elections have been staggered so that one-third of the senate seats are up for election each two years.
The table, below, provides a listing of the Senate seats that were contested in the 2006 Senate elections.
Table for Senate Elections 2006
|
State |
Senate Incumbent |
Senate Election Incumbent Opponents |
Discussion On Senate Elections of 2006 |
| Arizona | Jon Kyle (R) |
Jim Pederson (D) Richard Mack (L)
|
Kyle wins! |
| California | Dianne Feinstein (D) |
Dick Mountjoy (R) Jim Gilcrest (AIP) Don Grundman (AIP) Todd Chretien (G) |
Feinstein wins in a walk! |
| Connecticut | Joe Lieberman (D) |
Ned Lamont (D) Alan Schlesinger (R) Ralph Ferrucci (G) |
Lieberman wins as Republicans ignore Republican Schlesinger! What a battle this was! |
| Delaware | Thomas Carper (D) |
Jan Ting (R) |
Carper wins! |
| Florida | Bill Nelson (D) |
Katherine Harris (R) Will McBride (R) |
Nelson wins by a landslide! Katherine Harris finally gets her comeuppance from the Democrats. |
| Hawaii | Daniel Akaka (D) |
|
Akaka wins! |
| Indiana | Dick Lugar (R) | Steve Osborn (l) | Lugar by a landslide! |
| Maine | Olympia Snowe (R) | Jean Bright (D) | Snowe by a landslide! |
| Maryland |
Paul Sarbonnes (D) Retiring |
Ben Cardin (D) Michael Steele (R) Kevin Zeese (G, L, P) |
Cardin wins!
Steele runs a good race
|
| Massachusetts | Ted Kennedy (D) | Kenneth Chase (R) | Teddy in a walk! |
| Michigan | Debbie Stabenow (D) |
Mike Bouchard (R) |
Stabenow Wins! |
| Minnesota |
Mark Dayton (DFL) Retiring |
Amy Klobuchear (DFL) Mark Kennedy (R) |
Klobuchear wins! |
| Mississippi | Trent Lott (R) |
Bill Bowlin (D) Erik Fleming (D) |
Trent Lott wins handily! |
| Missouri | Jim Talent (R) | Claire McCaskill (D) | McCaskill won in a close race! The Michael Fox - Rush Limbaugh hassle may have played a role. |
| Montana | Conrad Burns (R) | Jon Tester (D) | Tester won! |
| Nebraska | Ben Nelson (D) | Pete Ricketts (R) | Nelson wins! |
| Nevada | John Ensign (R) | Jack Carter (D) | Carter is the son of former President Jimmy Carter and that didn't help him enough. Ensign wins! |
| New Jersey | Robert Menendez (D) | Thomas Keane, Jr. (R) | Menendez wins! |
| New York | Hillary Clinton (D) |
John Spencer (R/C) Sander Hicks (G) Jeff Russel (L) Bill Van Acken (S) |
Hillary wins and is trying for the 2008 Demo nomination. |
| North Dakota | Kent Conrad (R) | Dwight Grotberg (R) | Conrad wins! |
| Ohio | Mike DeWine (R) | Sherrod Brown (D) | Brown wins! |
| Pennsylvania | Rick Santorum | Bob Casey, Jr. (D) | Casey wins! |
| Rhode Island | Lincoln Chafee (R) |
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) |
Whitehouse wins and Republicans lose a moderate! |
| Tennessee | Bill Frist (R) Retiring |
Bob Corker (R)
Harold Ford, Jr. (D) |
Corker wins! But Ford makes a name for himself. |
| Texas | K Bailey Hutchison (R) | Barbara Radnofsky (D) | Hutchison wins easily |
| Utah | Orrin Hatch (R) |
Pete Ashdown (D) Julian Hatch (G) Scott Bradley (C) |
Hatch by a landslide! |
| Vermont |
Jim Jeffords (I) Retiring |
Bernie Sanders (I) Richard Tarrant (R) |
Sanders wins! Vermont must love the Independents. |
| Virginia | George Allen (R) |
James Webb (D) Gail Parker (IG) |
Webb won! |
| Washington | Maria Cantwell (D) |
Mike McGavick (R) Aaron Dixon (G) Bruce Gutherie (L) |
Cantwell wins! |
| West Virginia | Robert Byrd (D) |
John Raess (R) Jesse Johnson (M) |
Byrd by a landslide! |
| Wisconsin | Herb Kohl (D) |
Robert Lorge (R) Rae Vogeler (G) |
Kohn wins! |
| Wyoming | Craig Thomas (R) | Dale Groutage (D) | Thomas wins! |
Democrats made substantial gains in the Senate elections of 2006 and won control of the Senate. (The Democrats also won control of the House of Representatives.)
Last Updated: 11/16/08
Mail Me @ vanc13@cox.net (Author: Van Cook)
Democrats Win 2006 Midterm Elections