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United States general elections, 2006

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The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial legislatures and many state and local races. The final result was a turnover of both the House of Representatives and the Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats.

Exit polls indicated that, although a majority of Americans who voted in the midterm election disapproved of the war in Iraq, corruption was their most influential concern and national issues mattered to them more than local ones.<ref>Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls. CNN (2006-11-08).</ref>

Contents

[edit] Summary of results

The Democratic Party won a majority of the state governorships<ref>Robert Tanner (2006-11-07). Democrats guaranteed governor majority. Associated Press.</ref> and the U.S. House and Senate seats each for the first time since 1994, an election-year commonly known as the "Republican Revolution". For the first time in the history of the United States, no Democratic incumbent lost, nor did Republicans capture any open House, Senate, or Gubernatorial seat previously held by a Democrat.<ref>David R. Jones (2006-11-08). Why The Democrats Won. CBS News.</ref>

Democrats held a 232-201 advantage in the House of Representatives with three seats undecided (one seat has a runoff between two Democrats), and a 51-49 advantage in the United States Senate. The Senate figure includes two candidates who ran as independent candidates: one who pledged to align with Democrats and another who lost the Democratic primary but won the general election as an independent promising to caucus with the Democrats.<ref>Lieberman: Call me a Democrat. CNN (2006-11-10).</ref> The final Senate result was decided when Democrat James Webb was declared the winner in Virginia against incumbent George Allen by the Associated Press.<ref>Liz Sidoti and Bob Lewis (2006-11-08). Democrats take control of the Senate. Associated Press.</ref> On November 9, 2006, Allen and fellow Republican incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns (Mont.) both conceded defeat, ceding control of the Senate to the Democrats.<ref>Sen. Allen Concedes Defeat in Virginia. NPR (2006-11-09).</ref><ref>Sen. Burns Concedes Montana Race. NPR (2006-11-09).</ref>

The election has Nancy Pelosi (D-California) poised to become the first-ever female and first-ever Californian Speaker of the House<ref>Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls. CNN (2006-11-08).</ref> and Harry Reid (D-Nevada) the first Mormon Senate Majority Leader.<ref>Will Reid get top job in Senate?. Deseret Morning News (2006-11-05).</ref> Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) became the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Congress<ref>Minnesota voters send first Muslim to Capitol Hill. CNN (2006-11-08).</ref> and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) became the first Buddhists in a United States governing body.<ref>Lee Bowman and Lisa Hoffman (2006-11-08). From Buddhists to allergist, Congress represents all the people. Scripps Howard News Service.</ref>. Seven states banned recognition of same-sex marriage, while Arizona became the first state to reject such a ballot initiative.<ref>Same-sex marriage ban rejected in Arizona in historic first. Advocate (2006-11-09).</ref> South Dakota rejected a ban on abortion under almost any circumstances, which was intended to overturn federal constitutional abortion-rights nationwide by setting up a strong test case that proponents hoped would lead to the overruling of Roe vs. Wade.<ref>Chet Brokaw (2006-11-08). South Dakotans Reject Abortion Measure. Associated Press.</ref>

Some of the House and Senate seats lost by the Republicans were originally won by them in the Republican Revolution of 1994. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), Senator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Congressmen Charlie Bass (R-New Hampshire), John Hostettler (R-Indiana), Gil Gutknecht (R-Minnesota), and J.D. Hayworth (R-Arizona) all were elected in Democratic held seats in the 1994 elections and defeated in 2006. The Democrats also won back the Kansas 2nd and Ohio 18th, both lost to them in 1994. Rep. Sue Kelly (R-New York), also a member of the Republican "Class of 1994," was defeated.

[edit] Federal results

The Democrats gained six Senate seats by defeating Republican senators in the states of Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. The Democrats secured a 51-49 majority in the Senate (Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Senator-elect Bernie Sanders of Vermont are Independents who likely will vote with Democrats on caucus issues). For the first time since the midterm elections of 1994, the Democratic Party gained control of both houses of the United States Congress.

[edit] United States House of Representatives

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election.

Main article: United States House elections, 2006
Summary of the November 72006 United States House of Representatives election results
Party Seats Popular Vote
2004 2006 +/− % Vote % +/−
Democratic Party 202 ≥232 +30 39,267,916 57.7% +11.1%
Republican Party 232 ≥201 −29   28,464,092 41.8% –7.4%
Independents 1 0 −1 69,707 0.1% −0.5%
Others 0 0 0 255,876 0.4% –3.2%
Undecided Seats N/A 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 435 435 0 100.0% 68,057,591 100.0% 0
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Data subject to change as the remaining races are tallied.
Undecided: TX-23 (run-off election in December) and OH-15 (too close to call)
Special cases: LA-02 (Called for the Democratic party - run-off election between two Democratic candidates in December); FL-13 (Called for the Republican party, but the results will be disputed in court)

[edit] United States Senate

The 33 seats in the United States Senate Class 1 were up for election.

Main article: United States Senate elections, 2006
Summary of the November 72006 United States Senate election results
Party Breakdown Total Seats Popular Vote
Up Elected Not Up 2004 2006 +/− Vote %
Democratic Party 17 22 27 44 49 +5 32,682,619 53.8%
Republican Party 15 9 40 55 49 −6 25,784,256 42.5%
Independents 1 2 0 1 2 +1 871,530 1.4%
Libertarian Party 0 0 0 0 0 0 589,543 1.0%
Green Party 0 0 0 0 0 0 373,314 0.6%
Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 426,507 0.7%
Total 33 33 67 100 100 0 60,727,769 100.0%
Sources: The Associated Press, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections (unofficial) view, talk, edit

The Democratic Party is considered to hold a majority with 51 seats because the two independents, Bernie Sanders (Vermont) and Joseph Lieberman (Connecticut), have indicated that they will caucus with the Democrats.

[edit] State results

[edit] Governors

Main article: United States gubernatorial elections, 2006

Of the 50 United States governors, 36 were up for election. Twenty two of those contested seats were held by Republicans, and the remaining 14 were held by Democrats. Of the 36 governorships up for election, ten were open due to retirement, term limits, or primary loss. Atlhough most governors serve four-year terms, the two exceptions, Vermont and New Hampshire, elect governors to two-year terms. As a result of the 2006 gubernatorial elections, there are now 28 Democratic governors and 22 Republican governors, a reversal of the numbers held by the respective parties prior to the elections.

[edit] State legislatures

Nearly all state legislatures were up for election. Prior to the general elections, with the exception of the nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature, 21 legislatures were controlled by Republicans, 19 by Democrats, and nine split legislatures (where both houses are controlled by different parties). As a result of the 2006 elections, 23 legislatures were carried by Democrats, 17 by Republicans, and 9 legislatures were split. Democrats gained control of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the Minnesota Legislature, the Iowa General Assembly and the New Hampshire General Court. Meanwhile, Republicans gained control of the Oklahoma Legislature. Despite the Oklahoma gain, Republicans lost their majorities in the Wisconsin Legislature, the Michigan Legislature and the Indiana General Assembly, turning those legislatures into split bodies.

Democrats gained or retained control of the State Legislatures and Governorships of 15 states, thus creating one-party Government in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia. Republicans now control 10 State Governments, these being Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah. <ref>2006 Party Control Maps</ref>

In Montana, Rick Jore made history becoming the first Constitution Party (United States) candidate from any state to be elected to the state legislature, capturing the seat in Montana’s 12th District. Jore actually won in 2004 by three votes, only to see the courts throw out enough ballots to give the Democrat the victory. This year, in a rematch, he won convincingly, garnering 56.2% of the vote. <ref>UNOFFICIAL 2006 General Election Results</ref>

The most dramatic change in party control occurred with the New Hampshire General Court, where Republicans held a 92 seat majority in the lower House and an eight seat majority in the upper Senate prior to the election. By the end of the evening, Republicans had lost 81 seats in the House and five in the Senate, giving control of the General Court to the Democrats.

[edit] Ballot initiatives

Voters weighed in on various ballot initiatives. These included: raising the minimum wage, which passed in all six states with such referendums (AZ, CO, MO, MT, NV, OH); banning the recognition of same-sex marriage, passing in seven out of eight states (Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, with Arizona voting against the proposition); legalizing marijuana, failing in both states with such referendums for use for unconditional reasons (Colorado, Nevada) as well as for medical use only (South Dakota); restricting affirmative action, passing in Michigan; requiring parental notification before an abortion for minors, failing in both states with such referendums (California, Oregon); banning nearly all abortions, including those for victims of rape and incest, which failed in South Dakota; Instant-runoff voting, which passed in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and a referendum to ease restrictions on wine sales in Massachusetts, which failed. In California, voters endorsed a $37 billion package of bonds (Propositions 1A through 1E) to pay for transportation projects, housing, levee repairs and other infrastructure -- said to be the largest program of its kind in U.S. history.<ref>"Key Ballot Measures", CNN, November 8 2006.</ref>

[edit] Local elections

Numerous other elections for local, city, and county public offices were held.

A strange local election occurred in South Dakota; Marie Steichen was elected to Jerauld County commissioner, despite the fact that she died two months before the election. Her name was never replaced on the ballot, and voters who chose her were aware of her death.<ref>"Dead woman wins county commissioner's race", MSNBC, 2006-11-08. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.</ref>

In Richmond, California, a city of more than 100,000 residents, the Green Party challenger, city councilperson Gayle McLaughlin, unseated Democratic incumbent Irma Anderson and will now become the first Green Party mayor of a city of that size. <ref>"Green Party likely to win in Richmond mayor's race", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-11-09. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.</ref>

Two candidates in Nevada’s branch of the Constitution Party (United States), called the Independent American Party (Nevada), were also elected to office. Jackie Berg was elected Eureka County Clerk with 54.1% of the vote, easily topping Republican and Libertarian opposition. Also, Cel Ochoa will be the new constable in Searchlight, Nevada by virtue of winning 54.93% of the vote to defeat her Republican rival. Another Nevada Independent Party member, Bill Wilkerson, was elected to the Elko, Nevada School Board, in a non-partisan race.<ref>"Constitution Party Celebrates Election Victories", Constitution Party, 2006-11-09.</ref>

In Missoula County, Montana, residents passed a measure to encourage the County Sheriff's Department to make marijuana enforcement a last priority.<ref>"Missoula County approves marijuana initiative", Missoulian, 2006-11-08. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.</ref>

In Dallas County, Texas, Democrats regained control in 41 out of 42 contested GOP judgeships, as well as the district attorney's office and the county judge's seat. <ref>"Voters put a new face on justice", The Dallas Morning News, 2006-11-12. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.</ref>

[edit] Election irregularities

There were scattered reports of problems at polling places across the country as new electronic voting systems were introduced in many states. The problems ranged from voter and election official confusion about how to use new voting machines to apparent political dirty tricks designed to keep certain voters from casting their votes to inclement weather suppressing turnout.

Some reported irregularities:


A database of reported problems can also be found at Voters Unite.

[edit] Ramifications

Many political analysts concluded that the results of the election were based around President George W. Bush's policies in the War in Iraq and corruption in Congress.<ref>"Midterm Election Roundtable", Washington Post, November 8 2006.</ref><ref>Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Philip Shenon. "Elections Bring New Landscape to Capitol", New York Times, November 8 2006.</ref> At a press conference given to address the election results, President Bush called the cumulative results of the election a "thumpin'" by the Democrats.<ref name="Thumping">William L. Watts (2006-11-08). Embattled Rumsfeld to resign. MarketWatch.</ref>

[edit] Democratic agenda

Democrats have promised an agenda that includes withdrawing from the war in Iraq,<ref>Oskar Garcia (2006-11-09). McGovern to Meet With Congress on War. Associated Press.</ref> raising the minimum wage, implementing all of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, eliminating subsidies for oil companies, restricting lobbyists, repealing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, lowering interest rates on college loans, expanding stem-cell research, investigating political appointees for actions taken during and leading to the war in Iraq, allowing current tax cuts to expire,<ref>Tax Policy on the Campaign Trail. OMB Watch (2006-11-07).</ref> and negotiating Medicare prescription drug prices. They plan to legislate these issues within their first 100 legislative hours of power in January 2007.<ref>Pelosi ready for House helm, battle over issues. CNN (2006-11-09).</ref> According to Brian Wright, president of Democrasource, LLC (an Ohio based national political consulting group), “There’s no question, the administration and Iraq set the tone for this year."

[edit] Six point plan

Prior to the election in July 2006 Democrats unveiled a six-point plan they promised to enact if elected with congressional majorities. The plan was billed the "Six for 06 agenda" and officially called "A New Direction For America"<ref>Congressional Democrats. A New Direction For America (pdf). Nancy Pelosi.</ref> and compared to the 1994 Republican "Contract with America"<ref>Dana Bash and Ted Barrett (2006-07-28). Democrats launch 'Six for '06' agenda. CNN.</ref>. The six-points of the plan include: "honest leadership and open government, real security, energy independence, economic prosperity and educational excellence, a healthcare system that works for everyone, and retirement security".<ref>Democratic National Committee (2006-07-28). 6-point plan for 2006. Democratic National Committee.</ref>

  • Real security
    • In regards to "real security" they propose a "phased redeployment" of U.S. forces from Iraq, doubling the size of U.S. military special forces to capture Osama Bin Laden and destroy terrorist groups such as al Qaeda, and implementing the 9/11 Commission proposals to secure the national borders of the United States and screen every container arriving at U.S. ports.
  • Economic prosperity and educational excellence
    • Democratic plans for economic prosperity include ending the congressional pay raise until the federal minimum wage is raised and withholding tax breaks from U.S. companies that outsource jobs to foreign countries. Within education they plan to cut college loan rates, expand federal grants, and ensure that funds used for college tuition are not taxed.
  • Energy independence
    • The Democratic plan for achieving an end to American dependence on foreign countries for oil consists of repealing tax incentives given to oil companies, higher penalties for price gouging gasoline products, increasing tax incentives and funding for the research and development of technologies intended to improve fuel-efficiency and creating viable alternative fuel supplies such as biofuels.

[edit] Domestic

[edit] Donald Rumsfeld

With apparent reference to the impact of the Iraq war policy, in a press conference held on November 8, Bush talked about the election and announced the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Bush stated, "I know there's a lot of speculation on what the election means for the battle we're waging in Iraq. I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made there." Prior to the election, Bush had stated that he intended to keep Rumsfeld on as Secretary of Defense until the end of his Presidency. However, Bush then went on to add Rumsfeld's resignation was not due to the Democratic victories on November 8. Rumsfeld's job reportedly had been on the line for several months prior to the election, and the decision for him to stay until after the election, if he was going to be let go at all, was also reportedly made several months earlier. All this led to his resignation.<ref>Jim Rutenberg. "Removal of Rumsfeld Dates Back to Summer", New York Times, November 10 2006.</ref>

[edit] Republican leadership

On the same day, then Speaker of the House, Representative Dennis Hastert of the 14th Congressional District of Illinois, said he would not seek the Minority Leader position for the 110th Congress.

[edit] Voting trends

In the aftermath of the election The Weekly Standard published a number of articles highly critical of how the Republican Party had managed the United States Congress. It called the electoral defeat for the G.O.P. "only a little short" of "devastating" saying the "party of reform... didn't reform anything" and warned that the Democratic Party has expanded its "geographical sphere of Democratic power" to formerly Republican-held states such as Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota while it solidified New England. In the New England region, Republicans now only control a single district, the CT-04 seat held by Chris Shays, out of 22 congressional districts.

The Democratic expansion into Indiana, Virginia, and Ohio has "seriously diminished the chances for future Republican success" it claimed. The paper, which has been described as the "quasi-official organ of the Bush Administration"<ref>Ted Rall (September 25 2003). WHY WE HATE BUSH (It's the Stolen Election, Stupid). Free Republic.</ref> also stated that more people would have to "bendover" to get anywhere in a political office and has called on Republicans to move to the center for the sake of the party's future viability saying "conservatives won't want to hear this, but the Republican who maneuvered his way into the most impressive victory... won ... after moving to the center" and that "the South is not enough space to build a national governing majority".<ref>Matthew Continetti (November 8 2006). Republicans find themselves increasingly confined to the Sun Belt. Weekly Standard.</ref><ref>Fred Barnes (November 8 2006). Why Republicans got shellacked in the midterms. Weekly Standard.</ref>

[edit] International

[edit] Asia

[edit] Middle East

  • Iran
    • Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush's defeat in congressional elections a victory for Iran. "This issue (the elections) is not a purely domestic issue for America, but it is the defeat of Bush's hawkish policies in the world," Khamenei said in remarks reported by Iran's student news agency ISNA on Friday. "Since Washington's hostile and hawkish policies have always been against the Iranian nation, this defeat is actually an obvious victory for the Iranian nation." "The result of this election indicates that the majority of American people are dissatisfied and are fed up with the policies of the American administration," the IRNA state news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.<ref>Jon Hemming (2006-11-10). Khamenei calls elections a victory for Iran. Reuters.</ref>
   
United States general elections, 2006
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United States general elections, 2006

[edit] Europe

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] External links


United States 2006 midterm elections
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