United States Senate election in California, 2006

Infobox Election
election_name = United States Senate election in California, 2006
country = California
type = presidential
ongoing = no
party_colour =
previous_election = United States Senate election in California, 2000
previous_year = 2000
next_election = United States Senate election in California, 2012
next_year = 2012
election_date = November 7 2006


nominee1 = Dianne Feinstein
party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1 = 5,076,289
percentage1 = 59.43
swing1 =


nominee2 = Richard Mountjoy
party2 = Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote2 = 2,990,822
percentage2 = 35.02
swing2 =
map_

---

map_size = 300px
map_caption = Election results by county
title = Senator
before_election = Dianne Feinstein
before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
after_election = Dianne Feinstein
after_party = Democratic Party (United States)

The 2006 United States Senate election in California was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Dianne Feinstein was re-elected for another six-year term in Democratic-leaning California. She had faced token Democratic opposition in the primary on June 6, 2006.

Feinstein stood against Republican Dick Mountjoy, who had never held a statewide elected position, but had been a state senator for several years. Also running was Libertarian Michael Metti, Don Grundmann of the American Independent Party, Todd Chretien of the Green Party and Marsha Feinland of the Peace and Freedom Party.

Because California is a state that requires a large amount of money to wage a competitive statewide campaign, it is not unusual - as was the case for this race - for a popular incumbent to have no significant opponent. Several prominent Republicans, such as Bill Jones, Matt Fong, and others, declined to run, and a previous announced challenger, businessman Bill Mundell, withdrew his declaration after determining he would not be a self-funded candidate (like Michael Huffington was in the 1994 election).

Candidates

Democratic Party

*Dianne Feinstein - U.S. Senator since 1992, former mayor of San Francisco

Lost in primary
*Martin Luther Church - retired program manager
*Colleen Fernald - mother, artist, entrepreneur

Republican Party

*Richard Mountjoy - former state senator, former state assemblyman, unsuccessful candidate in 1998 for Republican nomination for lieutenant governor

American Independent Party

*Don J. Grundmann - chiropractor

=Green Party=

*Todd Chretien - writer

Lost in primary
*Tian Harter - green activist and a 1992 Congressional nominee
*Kent Mesplay - environmental activist, air quality inspector, and 2004 candidate for Presidential nomination

=Libertarian Party=

*Michael Metti - businessman and frequent candidate

Peace and Freedom Party

*Marsha Feinland - state party chair, socialist activist, retired teacher, and frequent candidate

Primary results

[http://sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2000_primary/us_senate_summary.pdf Link to primary results]

Democratic

Election box winning candidate no party no change
candidate = Dianne Feinstein
votes = 2,176,888
percentage = 86.95Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Colleen Fernald
votes = 199,180
percentage = 7.96Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Martin Luther Church
votes = 127,301
percentage = 5.09Election box total no party no change
votes = 2,503,369
percentage = 100.00

Green

Election box winning candidate no party no change
candidate = Todd Chretien
votes = 12,821
percentage = 46.14Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Tian Harter
votes = 10,318
percentage = 37.13Election box candidate no party no change
candidate = Kent Mesplay
votes = 4,649
percentage = 16.73Election box total no party no change
votes = 27,788
percentage = 100.00

Others

Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = California Republican Party
candidate = Dick Mountjoy
votes = 1,560,472
percentage = 100.00Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = American Independent Party
candidate = Don J. Grundmann
votes = 30,787
percentage = 100.00Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = Libertarian Party of California
candidate = Michael S. Metti
votes = 16,742
percentage = 100.00Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = Peace and Freedom Party (United States)
candidate = Marsha Feinland
votes = 4,109
percentage = 100.00

Controversies

Incorrect name of naval ship on Mountjoy Web site

On September 22, the Los Angeles Times reported that Mountjoy's official biography, as found on his campaign website, falsely asserted that he had served aboard the battleship "USS Missouri" during the Korean War -- he'd actually served aboard the heavy cruiser "USS Bremerton". A review of the ships' logs corroborated this and the website was quickly changed to reflect his service aboard the "Bremerton" rather than the "Missouri".

Opinion polls

Results

Election box winning candidate with party link no change
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Dianne Feinstein (incumbent)
votes = 5,076,289
percentage = 59.43Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Dick Mountjoy
votes = 2,990,822
percentage = 35.02Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Green Party (United States)
candidate = Todd Chretien
votes = 147,074
percentage = 1.72Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Libertarian Party (United States)
candidate = Michael S. Metti
votes = 133,851
percentage = 1.57Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Peace and Freedom Party
candidate = Marsha Feinland
votes = 117,764
percentage = 1.38Election box candidate with party link no change
party = American Independent Party
candidate = Don Grundmann
votes = 75,350
percentage = 0.88Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Green Party (United States)
candidate = Kent Mesplay (write-in)
votes = 160
percentage = 0.00Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Jeffrey Mackler (write-in)
votes = 108
percentage = 0.00Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Lea Sherman (write-in)
votes = 47
percentage = 0.00Election box candidate with party link no change
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Connor Vlakancic (write-in)
votes = 11
percentage = 0.00Election box invalid no change
votes = 357,583
percentage = 4.19Election box total no change
votes = 8,899,059
percentage = 100.00Election box turnout no change
percentage = 53.93Election box hold with party link without swing
winner = Democratic Party (United States)

Results by county

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.

ee also

*United States Senate elections, 2006

References

External links

* [http://www.dianne2006.com/ Feinstein's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.mountjoyforsenate.com/ Mountjoy's Campaign Website] (Inactive)
* [http://www.mettiforsenate.com/ Metti's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.todd4senate.org/ Chretien's Campaign Website]
* [http://tian.greens.org/DGT42Harter/Campaign06/OldIndex.html Harter's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.peaceandfreedom2006.org/candidates/mfeinland Feinland's Campaign Website]
*JoinCalifornia [http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/2006-11-07 2006 General Election]
* [http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/06/06/ca/state/us_senate.html SmartVoter.org page on the California Senate race.]