2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska

2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska

← 2000 November 7, 2006 2012 →
 
Nominee Ben Nelson Pete Ricketts
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 378,388 213,928
Percentage 63.88% 36.12%

Nelson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Ricketts:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data

U.S. senator before election

Ben Nelson
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Ben Nelson
Democratic

The 2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson won re-election to a second term, easily defeating Republican Pete Ricketts. Nelson won 63.9% of the vote to Ricketts's 36.1% Ricketts was later appointed in January 2023 to Nebraska's other Senate seat after serving as Governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023.

As of 2024, this remains the last time Democrats won any statewide election in Nebraska.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ben Nelson (incumbent) 92,501 100.00
Total votes 92,501 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Since Ricketts was a millionaire, he could finance his own campaign. His opponents could not raise enough money to keep up. Kramer raised $330,000 and Stenberg raised $246,000 in 2005.

Results

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Republican primary results by county
  Ricketts
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  Stenberg
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Pete Ricketts 129,643 48.14
Republican Don Stenberg 96,496 35.83
Republican David J. Kramer 43,185 16.03
Total votes 269,324 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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The primary election was held May 9, 2006. Pete Ricketts won the Republican nomination with 48% of the vote. Ben Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Nelson was elected in 2000 by a margin of 51% to 49% after serving as the state's governor for two terms. Nelson, considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, was the lone Democrat in Nebraska's Congressional delegation. This election was one of the most expensive in Nebraska history. In 2005, Ben Nelson raised $3.9 million for his re-election campaign. Pete Ricketts contributed $14.35 million of his own money to his campaign; he raised an additional $485,000 in contributions. The race also attracted national attention and generated several high-level campaign appearances. President George W. Bush appeared at a rally for Ricketts on November 5, 2006, in Grand Island, while then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared at a fundraiser for Nelson and other Nebraska Democrats on May 5, 2006, in Omaha. However, he won re-election by a large margin.

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[3] Solid D November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] Likely D November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[5] Likely D November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[6] Safe D November 6, 2006

Polling

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Source Date Ben
Nelson (D)
Pete
Ricketts (R)
Rasmussen[7] November 23, 2005 52% 29%
Rasmussen[8] April 26, 2006 54% 36%
Rasmussen[9] May 13, 2006 54% 35%
Rasmussen[10] July 17, 2006 57% 31%
Rasmussen[11] August 17, 2006 55% 32%
Rasmussen[12] September 26, 2006 55% 32%
Rasmussen[13] October 19, 2006 54% 34%

Results

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United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2006[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ben Nelson (incumbent) 378,388 63.88% +12.88%
Republican Pete Ricketts 213,928 36.12% −12.70%
Total votes 590,961 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold

Results by county

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From CNN[15]

County Ben Nelson
Democratic
Pete Ricketts
Republican
Total
votes
% # % #
Adams 67.18% 10,222 32.82% 4,993 15,215
Antelope 57.54% 1,556 42.46% 1,148 2,704
Arthur 40.60% 95 59.40% 139 234
Banner 47.85% 156 52.15% 170 326
Blaine 54.95% 150 45.05% 123 273
Boone 65.23% 1,664 34.77% 887 2,551
Box Butte 68.23% 2,489 31.77% 1,159 3,648
Boyd 63.53% 622 36.47% 357 979
Brown 51.09% 706 48.91% 676 1,382
Buffalo 56.41% 8,367 43.59% 6,466 14,833
Burt 69.49% 2,034 30.51% 893 2,927
Butler 73.10% 2,527 26.90% 930 3,457
Cass 62.85% 5,819 37.15% 3,440 9,259
Cedar 66.34% 2,608 33.66% 1,323 3,931
Chase 49.05% 799 50.95% 830 1,629
Cherry 53.17% 1,436 46.83% 1,265 2,701
Cheyenne 46.18% 1,450 53.82% 1,690 3,140
Clay 64.47% 1,662 35.53% 916 2,578
Colfax 69.44% 1,947 30.56% 857 2,804
Cuming 63.45% 1,953 36.55% 1,125 3,078
Custer 58.88% 2,880 41.12% 2,011 4,891
Dakota 69.32% 3,260 30.68% 1,443 4,703
Dawes 57.42% 1,706 42.58% 1,265 2,971
Dawson 58.66% 3,910 41.34% 2,755 6,665
Deuel 48.70% 392 51.30% 413 805
Dixon 66.54% 1,589 33.46% 799 2,388
Dodge 66.70% 7,950 33.30% 3,969 11,919
Douglas 65.16% 92,133 34.84% 49,257 141,390
Dundy 61.16% 570 38.84% 362 932
Fillmore 71.49% 1,780 28.51% 710 2,490
Franklin 64.88% 946 35.12% 512 1,458
Frontier 65.34% 820 34.66% 435 1,255
Furnas 65.55% 1,347 34.45% 708 2,055
Gage 72.98% 6,451 27.02% 2,388 8,839
Garden 48.45% 500 51.55% 532 1,032
Garfield 59.09% 543 40.91% 376 919
Gosper 62.89% 622 37.11% 367 989
Grant 40.85% 134 59.15% 194 328
Greeley 75.99% 807 24.01% 255 1,062
Hall 61.52% 10,371 38.48% 6,487 16,858
Hamilton 59.36% 2,660 40.64% 1,821 4,481
Harlan 64.63% 1,124 35.37% 615 1,739
Hayes 57.09% 282 42.91% 212 494
Hitchcock 68.10% 824 31.90% 386 1,210
Holt 51.44% 2,288 48.56% 2,160 4,448
Hooker 56.23% 185 43.77% 144 329
Howard 69.16% 1,803 30.84% 804 2,607
Jefferson 71.41% 2,265 28.59% 907 3,172
Johnson 75.18% 1,369 24.82% 452 1,821
Kearney 58.76% 1,614 41.24% 1,133 2,747
Keith 48.79% 1,588 51.21% 1,667 3,255
Keya Paha 54.50% 303 45.50% 253 556
Kimball 46.42% 753 53.58% 869 1,622
Knox 63.65% 2,054 36.35% 1,173 3,227
Lancaster 70.07% 60,309 29.93% 25,762 86,071
Lincoln 61.23% 7,664 38.77% 4,852 12,516
Logan 52.51% 199 47.49% 180 379
Loup 64.36% 242 35.64% 134 376
Madison 54.61% 5,730 45.39% 4,762 10,492
McPherson 44.83% 117 55.17% 144 261
Merrick 63.24% 1,923 36.76% 1,118 3,041
Morrill 48.48% 912 51.52% 969 1,881
Nance 71.70% 1,206 28.30% 476 1,682
Nemaha 61.79% 1,745 38.21% 1,079 2,824
Nuckolls 66.98% 1,375 33.02% 678 2,053
Otoe 62.51% 3,550 37.49% 2,129 5,679
Pawnee 67.39% 835 32.61% 404 1,239
Perkins 52.97% 669 47.03% 594 1,263
Phelps 57.90% 2,269 42.10% 1,650 3,919
Pierce 55.99% 1,378 44.01% 1,083 2,461
Platte 62.97% 6,664 37.03% 3,919 10,583
Polk 62.92% 1,432 37.08% 844 2,276
Red Willow 70.60% 3,016 29.40% 1,256 4,272
Richardson 64.63% 2,226 35.37% 1,218 3,444
Rock 54.99% 413 45.01% 338 751
Saline 78.78% 3,615 21.22% 974 4,589
Sarpy 59.27% 24,640 40.73% 16,935 41,575
Saunders 67.62% 5,393 32.38% 2,582 7,975
Scotts Bluff 51.98% 5,834 48.02% 5,389 11,223
Seward 67.39% 3,930 32.61% 1,902 5,832
Sheridan 43.55% 820 56.45% 1,063 1,883
Sherman 70.99% 1,018 29.01% 416 1,434
Sioux 39.85% 216 60.15% 326 542
Stanton 53.92% 1,067 46.08% 912 1,979
Thayer 70.16% 1,627 29.84% 692 2,319
Thomas 53.12% 179 46.88% 158 337
Thurston 73.89% 1,296 26.11% 458 1,754
Valley 61.90% 1,290 38.10% 794 2,084
Washington 57.95% 4,394 42.05% 3,189 7,583
Wayne 63.90% 1,963 36.10% 1,109 3,072
Webster 67.36% 1,164 32.64% 564 1,728
Wheeler 65.72% 255 34.28% 133 388
York 57.50% 3,118 42.50% 2,305 5,423

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "U.S. Senate - Nebraska 2006 Primary Election Official Results". www.sos.ne.gov. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  2. ^ "U.S. Senate - Nebraska 2006 Primary Election Official Results". www.sos.ne.gov. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Rasmussen Archived January 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Rasmussen
  9. ^ Rasmussen
  10. ^ Rasmussen
  11. ^ Rasmussen
  12. ^ Rasmussen
  13. ^ Rasmussen
  14. ^ "2006 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov.
  15. ^ "U.S. SENATE / NEBRASKA / COUNTY RESULTS". CNN. Archived from the original on December 21, 2006.
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