United States Senate election in Maine, 2006

United States Senate election in Maine, 2006

2000 ← November 2, 2006 → 2012

Nominee Olympia Snowe Jean Hay Bright Bill Slavick Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 402,598 111,984 29,220 Percentage 74.01% 20.59% 5.37%

County Results

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 on November 2, 2006. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term.

Candidates

Democratic

• Jean Hay Bright, activist

Independent

• Bill Slavick, peace activist

Republican

• Olympia Snowe, incumbent U.S. Senator first elected in 1994 and previously a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Campaign

Snowe, who had been elected to both of her previous terms by approximately 2 to 1 margins, had never lost an election. The reason why Snowe won by a landslide even when Democrats were winning across the country is because she is a centrist Republican and thus has a very high approval rating in Maine. 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 on 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.

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. A writer and former investigative reporter with three books and hundreds of published columns under her belt, she is an outspoken pro-choice, anti-war, pro-gay, pro-labor, pro-environment candidate. A former board member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Hay Bright owns and operates a commercial organic farm with her husband David Bright in Dixmont, Maine. She was a founding member of the Maine Progressive Caucus in 2004, and was on the original Board of Stewards for the Good Life Center, the last homestead of authors Helen and Scott Nearing in Harborside, Maine, serving from 1995 to 2003.

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)
Critical Insights	October 27, 2006	74%	14%	6%
Rasmussen	October 17, 2006	70%	24%
Rasmussen	August 21, 2006	68%	20%
Rasmussen	August 2, 2006	69%	22%
Rasmussen	June 22, 2006	66%	26%

Results

General election results [2]
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			543,981
	Republican hold		Swing

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

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections Division

External links

• Snowe's official Senate site
• Snowe's campaign site
• Hay Bright's campaign site
• Mehnert's campaign site
• Slavick's campaign site
• Slavick's campaign website

Preceded by 2002 Susan Collins

Maine U.S. Senate elections 2006

Succeeded by 2008