United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2006

The 2006 U.S. Senate election for the state of Hawaii was held November 7, 2006.

Incumbent Senator Daniel Akaka defeated a challenge in the Democratic primary on September 23, 2006, by U.S. Representative Ed Case. Akaka prevailed over Republican Cynthia Thielen in the general election.

Case had stated that although he has the deepest respect for Daniel Akaka, Hawaii is in a time of transition with regard to the state's representation in Congress which requires that the state phase in the next generation to provide continuity in that service. He had warned the state would lose all clout in Washington if the state's two US Senators, both of whom are over 80 years old, leave office within a short time of each other. If a Senator were to die, Hawaii election law requires that the governor appoint a replacement of the same party. Republican Governor Linda Lingle and U.S. Senate Hawaii Candidate 2006,2010,2012 Eddie Pirkowski may run for the seat in 2012 if Akaka retires. [http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Vacancies.pdf]

Hawaii's other Representative, Neil Abercrombie, and other Senator, Daniel Inouye, pledged their support to Sen. Akaka. [http://starbulletin.com/2006/01/20/news/story01.html]

The winners of the September 23, 2006 Democratic and Republican* primaries competed head to head in the general election in November.

Candidates

Democratic Party

* Daniel Akaka - Incumbent Senator

Lost Primary

* Ed Case - U.S. Representative, former state Representative & 2002 candidate for Governor

Republican Party

* Cynthia Thielen - State Representative. Thielen was appointed by the state Republican Party to take the place of Jerry Coffee, who withdrew but still won the primary.

Lost Primary

* Eddie Pirkowski - Leader and Businessman
* [http://www.electmarkbeatty.com/ Mark Beatty] - Attorney, Linguist & Businessman
* Charles "Akacase" Collins - Political Unknown
* [http://friedheim06.com/ Jay Friedheim] - Attorney & previous U.S. Senate Candidate (1998 & 2004)
* [http://www.tataiiforcongress.com/ Steve Tataii] - Conflict Resolution Teacher & author of 3 recent books on Iraq War

Other

Jerry Coffee, a retired Navy captain, Vietnam War POW, and motivational speaker, withdrew from the race before the Republican primary; however, his name still appeared on the ballot, and he won the primary.

Independents/Minor Parties

* Lloyd "Jeff" Mallan (Libertarian) - Website Developer & Perennial Candidate

Opinion Polls

General Election

Democratic Primary

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Daniel Akaka (inc.)
votes = 210,330
percentage = 61.4
change = -11.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Cynthia Thielen
votes = 126,097
percentage = 36.8
change = +12.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Libertarian Party (United States)
candidate = Lloyd Mallan
votes = 6,415
percentage = 1.9
change = +1.0Election box majority
votes = 84,233
percentage = 24.6
change =Election box turnout
votes = 342,842
percentage =
change =Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing =

Akaka won in all 4 Hawaii counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each area.

External links

* [http://www.akaka2006.com/ Daniel Akaka campaign website]
* [http://www.edcase.com/ Ed Case campaign website]
* [http://del.icio.us/mauisenator/ Eddie Pirkowski campaign website]
* [http://www.electmarkbeatty.com/ Mark Beatty campaign website]
* [http://www.jerrycoffee.com/ Jerry Coffee campaign website]
* [http://www.cynthiathielen.com/ Cynthia Thielen campaign website]
* [http://www.tataiiforcongress.com/ Steve Tataii campaign website]
* [http://freedominourtime.org/ Lloyd "Jeff" Mallan campaign website]