2006 United States Senate election in Maine

2006 United States Senate election in Maine
	Snowe: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Bright: 40–50%; Slavick: 80–90%
U.S. senator before election; Olympia Snowe; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; Olympia Snowe; Republican

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 2024^[update], this was the last time Republicans won the Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in Maine.

General election

Candidates

Jean Hay Bright, activist (Democratic)
Bill Slavick, activist (Independent)
Olympia Snowe, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995 (Republican)

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.

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.

The race had been called by FOX News 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.

Polling

Source	Date	Snowe (R)	Bright (D)	Slavick (I)
Rasmussen^[2]	June 22, 2006	66%	26%
Rasmussen^[3]	August 2, 2006	69%	22%
Rasmussen^[4]	August 21, 2006	68%	20%
Rasmussen^[5]	October 17, 2006	70%	24%
Critical Insights^[6]	October 27, 2006	74%	14%	6%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[7]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[8]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[9]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[10]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Results

General election results^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Olympia Snowe (incumbent)	402,598	74.01	+5.5
	Democratic	Jean Hay Bright	111,984	20.59	−10.6
	Independent	Bill Slavick	29,220	5.37	n/a
Majority			290,614	53.42
Turnout			543,802
	Republican hold		Swing

Snowe won in all of Maine's counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each region.

References

^ [1]^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Rasmussen
^ Rasmussen
^ Critical Insights
^ "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.
^ Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division

External links

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

[1] [1]^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] Rasmussen

[3] Rasmussen Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[4] Rasmussen

[5] Rasmussen

[6] Critical Insights

[7] "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.

[8] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[9] "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[10] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[11] Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

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[11]

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