2006 United States Senate election in Texas
November 7, 2006
 
Nominee Kay Bailey Hutchison Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 2,661,789 1,555,202
Percentage 61.69% 36.04%
County results
Hutchinson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Radnofsky:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Kay Bailey Hutchison
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Kay Bailey Hutchison
Republican

The 2006 United States Senate election in Texas was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison won re-election to a third full term.

As of 2022, this was the last time a Republican won Texas’s Class 1 Senate seat with over 60% of the vote, as well as the last time a Republican candidate for this seat won Dallas, Jefferson, or Bexar counties.

To date, this is the most recent statewide election in which Dallas County voted for the Republican candidate.

General election

Major candidates

Democratic

  • Barbara Ann Radnofsky, attorney
  • Gene Kelly, retired attorney & 2000 Democratic Senate Nominee
  • Darrel Reece Hunter

Republican

Campaign

The Democratic nominee had never run for public office and was expected to face an uphill battle in the general election, especially in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994 and against a historically popular Hutchison. Since neither Radnofsky nor her main opponent, Gene Kelly, had received a majority of votes in the Democratic primary, a runoff was held April 11, 2006, which Radnofsky won. Radnofsky's campaign platform is available on her website.[1] Scott Lanier Jameson won the Libertarian Party nomination at the party's state convention on June 10, 2006, defeating Timothy Wade and Ray Salinas. Arthur W. Loux, a Roman Forest City Councilman and a member of the Minutemen, was running as an independent.

Hutchison co-sponsored legislation supporting the creation of a constitutional amendment that would limit terms for senators, but had been quoted saying that she would only leave after two terms if such a law applied to all senators. After deciding not to challenge Governor Rick Perry this year, as had been widely speculated, Hutchison was running for a third term.

She had no opposition in the 2006 Republican primary, and had approval ratings in the 60 percent range going into the election,[2] although they had been slipping rapidly.

Debates

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[3] Solid R November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] Safe R November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[5] Safe R November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[6] Safe R November 6, 2006

Polling

Source Date Hutchison (R) Radnofsky (D)
Polimetrix November 5, 2006 65% 29%
Zogby October 25, 2006 61% 27%
Rasmussen October 23, 2006 60% 34%
Rasmussen August 31, 2006 58% 32%
Rasmussen August 3, 2006 61% 31%
Rasmussen July 13, 2006 58% 31%
Rasmussen May 18, 2006 53% 34%
Rasmussen January 8, 2006 64% 25%

Results

United States Senate election in Texas, 2006[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison (incumbent) 2,661,789 61.69 -4.65
Democratic Barbara Ann Radnofsky 1,555,202 36.04 +3.69
Libertarian Scott Jameson 97,672 2.26 +1.10
Majority 1,106,587 25.7
Turnout 4,314,663
Republican hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Radnofsky Mediation Services". Radnofsky.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. ↑ "SurveyUSA News Poll #9993".
  3. ↑ "2006 Senate Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2006 General Election". Texas Secretary of State. November 7, 2006.
Official campaign websites (Archived)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.