United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2006

The Rhode Island Senate election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. The election was won by Sheldon Whitehouse whose term in the United States Senate will run from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2013. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228016,00.html]

Republican Lincoln Chafee was seeking re-election to the seat he has held since 1999, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father John Chafee. Lincoln Chaffee won election to the seat in 2000. The statewide primary election was held on September 12, 2006. Chafee won renomination, fending off a challenge from Steve Laffey who had criticized Chafee's moderate and liberal positions as being out of touch with the Republican party. Sheldon Whitehouse won the Democratic nomination and polling had suggested that the race between Chafee and Whitehouse would be close.

Democrats believed that this was one of the most likely Senate seats to switch party control, due to the Democratic tilt of Rhode Island, as well as the fact that Chafee needed to expend part of his campaign fund to win the Republican primary election. Chafee's approval ratings also took a beating from his primary battle with Laffey and may have hurt him in the general election. Another factor that hurt Chafee was the fact that Whitehouse, the Democratic nominee, had a huge head start on him, as he was able to campaign with little opposition for at least half the year and had not had to contend with a major opponent until the general election campaign. Rhode Islanders' historically large disapproval ratings for President Bush and the Republican Party as a whole was another major hurdle for Chafee.

Republicans

s for supporting tax increases as Mayor and increasing city spending.

The national GOP supported Chafee in the primary campaign, believing that he was the most likely candidate to hold the seat in the general election. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, John McCain of Arizona and Laura Bush appeared at fundraisers for Chafee, while Senator Bill Frist's PAC donated to Chafee. The National Republican Senatorial Committee also ran ads in the state supporting Chafee. Steve Laffey, however, picked up many endorsements from Republican town committees throughout Rhode Island, the national group Club for Growth and former candidate for the party's Presidential nomination Steve Forbes. On July 10, 2006, the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Laffey, saying that he had included a political communication in tax bills mailed to residents of Cranston. [http://www.gopsenators.com/nrscwebimages/Laffey-CityofCranston-FECComplaint.pdf]

In the primary on September 12, Chafee defeated Laffey by a margin of about 4,000 votes, or 54% to Laffey's 46%.

Democrats

.

Carl Sheeler, a former U.S. Marine, a business owner, and an adjunct professor of business, ran on a more progressive platform. Ultimately, however, Whitehouse would trounce his competition in the primary on September 12, winning his party's support by a large margin.

Withdrew:

Matt Brown's campaign became embroiled in a fundraising controversy in March 2006 after "The Hill" revealed that the Maine, Massachusetts, and Hawaii Democratic parties had donated $25,000 to Brown's campaign and received $30,000 in donations days later from contributors who had already given Brown the legal limit. Brown said he asked his supporters to give money to the three state parties, but that it was "all completely legal." Shortly after the controversy began, Hawaii's Republican Party announced its intention to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. [http://www.turnto10.com/politics/8185620/detail.html]

Following this controversy and the release of the first quarter financial reports that showed Brown's campaign drained of cash on hand, Brown withdrew from the race on April 26, 2006. He endorsed Whitehouse. [http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060427_brown27.f684064.html]

Interest groups

* In early 2006, the Club for Growth, a pro-tax cut political action committee, sent a series of mailings to Rhode Island Republicans attacking Chafee's positions and voting record.

Issues

* Abortion
** Chafee - pro-choice
** Whitehouse - pro-choice

* Stem-Cell research
** Chafee - support
** Whitehouse - support

* Death penalty
** Chafee - strongly opposes
** Whitehouse - support in federal level, but not in state level; ruled out for minors

* Gay rights
** Chafee - against marriage defense amendment; supports gay marriages
** Whitehouse - against marriage defense amendment; supports gay marriages

[http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/Sheldon_Whitehouse.htm] [http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Lincoln_Chafee.htm]

Polling

General Election

Republican Primary (before September 12, 2006 Primary)

Election results

Unofficial results [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/RI/S/01/index.html] :

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse
votes = 205,274
percentage = 53.5
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Lincoln Chafee (Incumbent)
votes = 178,548
percentage = 46.5
change = -11.3Election box majority
votes = 26,726
percentage = 7.0
change = Election box turnout
votes = 383,822
percentage =
change = Election box gain with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
loser = Republican Party (US)
swing = -11.3

Whitehouse carried Providence County, which contains approximately 60% of the state's population, with 59% to Chafee's 41%. Chafee's strongest showing was in Washington County (South County), where he took 55% of the vote against Whitehouse's 45%. Chafee also took Kent County by a small margin, while Whitehouse was victorious by extremely slim margins in Bristol and Newport Counties.

References

* [http://www.elections.ri.gov/Calendars/2006/2006elect.htm Rhode Island Election Calendar]

External links

* [http://www.WhereToVote.com/ Chris Young for Senate]
* [http://www.chafeeforsenate.com/ Lincoln Chafee for Senate]
* [http://www.whitehouseforsenate.com/ Sheldon Whitehouse for Senate]
* [http://www.electlaffey.com/ Steve Laffey for Senate]
* [http://www.carlsheeler.com/ Carl Sheeler for Senate]
* [http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2006-04-19.asp Senator Chafee Earns Sierra Club Endorsement]
* [http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2006/04/27/little/ Chafee Klatch] Green groups endorse Republican Lincoln Chafee; activists cry foul
* [http://www.transterrestrial.com/archives/006446.html#006446 Fake Republican] (Transterrestrial Musings, February 9, 2006)
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301917_pf.html A Republican on the Edge] (Washington Post, April 14, 2006)sequence
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