2006 United States Senate election in Maine
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November 7, 2006
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Snowe: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bright: 40–50% Slavick: 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Maine |
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The 2006 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term, defeating Democrat Jean Hay Bright and independent candidate Bill Slavick. As of 2024[update], this was the last time Republicans won the Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in Maine.
Along with Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, this was one of the three Republican-held Senate seats up for election in a state that John Kerry won in the 2004 presidential election.
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Jean Hay Bright, activist (Democratic)
- Bill Slavick, activist (Independent)
- Olympia Snowe, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995 (Republican)
Campaign
[edit]Snowe, who had been elected to both of her previous terms by at least three-to-two 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.
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.[1]
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.
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.
Despite a nationwide blue wave that saw Democrats gain five seats in the Senate, the race was called by FOX News for the Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe 23 minutes after the polls had closed.[2] 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.
Hay Bright would only carry the heavily Democratic town of Grand Isle on the Canadian border, while Slavick would win the towns of North Yarmouth, Glenburn, and Kingman with over 80% of the vote according to official tallies.[3]
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[4] | Solid R | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[5] | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[6] | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[7] | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Olympia Snowe (R) |
Jean Bright (D) |
Bill Slavick (I) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Insights[8] | October 16–23, 2006 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 74% | 14% | 6% | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports[9] | October 17, 2006 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 70% | 24% | – | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports[10] | August 17, 2006 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 68% | 20% | – | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports[11] | July 19, 2006 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 69% | 22% | – | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports[12] | June 15, 2006 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 66% | 26% | – | 8% |
Results
[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 402,598 | 74.01% | +5.50 | |
| Democratic | Jean Hay Bright | 111,984 | 20.59% | −10.60 | |
| Independent | Bill Slavick | 29,220 | 5.37% | N/A | |
| Majority | 290,614 | 53.42 | |||
| Turnout | 543,802 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Results by county
[edit]| County | Olympia Snowe Republican |
Jean Hay Bright Democratic |
William Slavick Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Androscoggin | 31,465 | 77.8% | 6,690 | 16.5% | 2,260 | 5.6% | 24,775 | 61.3% | 40,415 |
| Aroostook | 19,845 | 76.4% | 5,221 | 20.1% | 908 | 3.5% | 14,624 | 56.3% | 25,974 |
| Cumberland | 83,490 | 69.6% | 28,270 | 23.6% | 8,105 | 6.8% | 55,220 | 46.0% | 119,865 |
| Franklin | 10,777 | 76.5% | 2,640 | 18.7% | 665 | 4.7% | 8,137 | 57.8% | 14,082 |
| Hancock | 16,792 | 67.7% | 6,752 | 27.3% | 1,249 | 5.0% | 10,040 | 40.4% | 24793 |
| Kennebec | 39,687 | 78.0% | 8,958 | 17.6% | 2,223 | 4.4% | 30,729 | 60.4% | 50,868 |
| Knox | 13,070 | 71.2% | 4,423 | 24.1% | 860 | 4.7% | 8,647 | 47.1% | 18,353 |
| Lincoln | 13,274 | 75.8% | 3,427 | 19.6% | 796 | 4.5% | 9,847 | 56.2% | 17,497 |
| Oxford | 19,055 | 79.3% | 3,804 | 15.8% | 1,171 | 4.9% | 15,251 | 63.5% | 24,030 |
| Penobscot | 42,700 | 73.7% | 11,507 | 19.9% | 3,722 | 6.4% | 31,193 | 53.4% | 57,929 |
| Piscataquis | 5,564 | 75.4% | 1,244 | 16.9% | 558 | 7.7% | 4,320 | 58.5% | 7,366 |
| Sagadahoc | 12,704 | 75.6% | 3,267 | 19.4% | 825 | 4.9% | 9,437 | 56.2% | 16,796 |
| Somerset | 15,053 | 75.6% | 3,934 | 19.8% | 921 | 4.6% | 11,119 | 55.8% | 19,908 |
| Waldo | 11,626 | 69.6% | 4,292 | 25.7% | 774 | 4.7% | 7,334 | 43.9% | 16,692 |
| Washington | 9,691 | 74.2% | 2,623 | 20.1% | 725 | 5.7% | 7,068 | 54.1% | 13,039 |
| York | 57,805 | 75.8% | 14,932 | 19.6% | 3,468 | 4.6% | 42,873 | 56.2% | 76,205 |
| Totals | 402,598 | 74.01% | 111,984 | 20.59% | 29,220 | 5.37% | 290,614 | 53.42% | 543,802 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
[edit]- ↑ [permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Voting | Vote | 2006 Elections - FOXNews.com". www.foxnews.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ "State of Maine General Election Tabulation for the Election held on November 7, 2006" (PDF). MaineLegislature.org. November 7, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ↑ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ↑ Farmer, David (October 27, 2006). "Baldacci in lead, poll shows". Sun Journal. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2006.
- ↑ "Maine: Baldacci (D) 44% Woodcock (R) 34%". Rasmussen Reports. October 19, 2006. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2006.
- ↑ "Maine Senate: Snowe Holding On to Massive Lead". Rasmussen Reports. August 21, 2006. Archived from the original on August 24, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Maine Governor: At 43%, Baldacci Is Six Points Ahead". Rasmussen Reports. August 2, 2006. Archived from the original on October 21, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Maine Senate: Snowe Trouncing Hay Bright". Rasmussen Reports. June 22, 2026. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ↑ Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division
External links
[edit]- Snowe's campaign website
- Hay Bright's campaign website
- Mehnert's campaign website
- Slavick's campaign website Archived August 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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