United States House elections, 2006 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

House of Representatives prior to the election

As of November 7, 2006, the U.S. House of the 109th Congress was composed of 229 Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, 201 Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

and 1 Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

(who caucuses with the Democrats). There were also four vacancies. Republicans held a 28 seat advantage, and Democrats needed to pick up 15 seats to take control of the House, which had had a Republican majority since January 1995.

Predictions

A number of organizations and individuals made predictions about the election, some for the House as a whole and some for both that and individual races. For the predictions just before the election occurred, see United States House elections, 2006 - predictions.

Open seats

In the election, there were 32 open seats: 28 incumbents not seeking re-election and four vacancies. Of the 28 incumbents, 18 were Republicans, 9 Democrats, and 1 an independent.

The four vacancies were , to be filled at the same time as the general election with the winner taking office in November immediately after the votes were certified; , with a separate special election on the same day; and and , which did not have special elections to fill the vacancies before January 2007. had been held by Democrat Bob Menendez, Texas's 22nd congressional district

Texas's 22nd congressional district

Texas District 22 of the United States House of Representatives is the Congressional district that covers a south-central portion of the metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Rosenberg and La Marque as well as portions of Missouri City and Pearland, in Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and...

had been held by Republican Tom DeLay

Tom DeLay

Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...

, Ohio's 18th congressional district

Ohio's 18th congressional district

The 18th congressional district of Ohio is currently represented by Republican Bob Gibbs. The district ranges around the eastern part of Ohio, taking in a collection of small cities and rural areas. The district voted for the majority party in the House of Representatives in every election since...

had been held by Republican Robert Ney, and Florida's 16th congressional district

Florida's 16th congressional district

Florida's 16th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Coast and includes parts of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. Included within...

had been held by Republican Mark Foley

Mark Foley

Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....

.

In addition to the open seats, two incumbents, (Democrat Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...

in and Republican Joe Schwarz

Joe Schwarz

John J. H. "Joe" Schwarz, M.D. , an independent politician from Michigan, was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004 as a moderate Republican...

in ), were defeated in their party's respective primaries, adding two seats to the number of races where the incumbent was not up for re-election in November.

Seats that changed party

Thirty Republican seats were picked up by Democrats, and one seat held by an independent was picked up by a Democrat. No Democratic seats were picked up by Republicans. This marked the first time since 1948 that a party did not lose any of its seats.

Arizona

— Early in the cycle, incumbent J.D. Hayworth (R) appeared on his way to an easy reelection. However, his seat may have become more competitive after the Congressional Page scandal
Mark Foley scandal
The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting e-mails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages...

broke. Democrats fielded a locally well-known candidate in State Senator Harry Mitchell
Harry Mitchell
Harry E. Mitchell is a former U.S. Representative who represented from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career :...

, a former Mayor of Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...

. Mitchell has been a political force in his home town, one of the largest communities in the district, and Democrats became enthusiastic about his candidacy. The 5th leans Republican, but not overwhelmingly. The district includes, in addition to Tempe, Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...

, the prime real estate of the Phoenix area. On election night, Mitchell defeated Hayworth, 50% to 46%.

— Incumbent Jim Kolbe
Jim Kolbe
James Thomas "Jim" Kolbe is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district, serving 11 terms from 1985 to 2007.-Early life:...

(R) announced on November 23, 2005 that he would not seek re-election in 2006. His district, located in Southeastern Arizona and based in the suburbs of Tucson, is Republican-leaning, but competitive: President Bush won the district with 53% of the vote in 2004 (although only 50% in 2000). The Democratic primary in September was won by former State Senator Gabrielle Giffords
Gabrielle Giffords
Gabrielle Dee "Gabby" Giffords is an American politician. A Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, she has represented since 2007. She is the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress...

, who resigned from the Arizona Legislature
Arizona Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...

on December 1, 2005 in preparation for the campaign. Randy Graf
Randy Graf
Randy J. Graf is a former member of the Arizona State House. He was the Republican nominee for in 2006. The district occupies most of Tucson, all of Cochise County, and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.- Background :...

, a former state Representative who lost to Kolbe in the 2004 primary, won the September 2006 Republican primary. He defeated current state Representative Steve Huffman
Steve Huffman
Steve Huffman is a web developer and co-founder of reddit. More recently, he has co-founded the airfare search site Hipmunk. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with Alexis Ohanian to start Reddit in Medford, MA after taking funding from Y Combinator.-References:...

, whom both Kolbe and the National Republican Congressional Committee supported. The NRCC reportedly became concerned that Graf (a supporter of the Minuteman Project, and a sponsor of an unsuccessful bill that would let patrons carry guns into bars and restaurants), was too conservative to win the district. The NRCC committed $122,000 for a television ad in support of Huffman, which ran the week before the primary. The Democratic party shared that assessment — prior to the primary, it spent nearly $200,000, "a large part of that for advertisements critical of Mr. Huffman in an effort to help Mr. Graf's candidacy." In late September, the national GOP canceled about $1 million in advertising support. Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...

David Nolan
David Nolan (Libertarian Party)
David Fraser Nolan was an American activist and politician. He was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party of the United States, having hosted the meeting in 1971 at which the Party was founded.Douglas Martin, . New York Times, November 22, 2010...

and independent Jay Quick also ran for the seat. Giffords went on to win by a 54% to 42% margin. (For details, see Arizona 8th congressional district election, 2006
Arizona 8th congressional district election, 2006
The Arizona 8th congressional district election, 2006 was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Jim Kolbe , who was not running for re-election...

.)

California

— Longtime incumbent Richard Pombo
Richard Pombo
Richard William Pombo is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented California's 11th congressional district from 1993 to 2007...

(R) won reelection in 2004 by a reasonably comfortable 61% to 39% margin. However, Pombo became associated with the ethical and legal scandals revolving around Jack Abramoff and became the subject of an investigation, which eroded his popular support. In addition, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

listed him as one of the ten worst congressmen. The Democratic candidate who garnered the 39% in 2004, Jerry McNerney
Jerry McNerney
Gerald "Jerry" McNerney is an engineer, energy specialist, and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party...

, joined that race as a write-in candidate two weeks before the primary election. In 2006, McNerney was challenged in the primary by Steve Filson. Filson was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...

but was upset by McNerney in the primary. Pombo was challenged for the Republican nomination by former Representative Pete McCloskey
Pete McCloskey
Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President...

. Pombo won 63% of the primary vote to 32% for McCloskey. McCloskey eventually endorsed McNerney. The eleventh district is largely composed of Oakland suburbs and leans Republican. McNerney defeated Pombo 53% to 47% on election night.

Colorado

— Incumbent Bob Beauprez
Bob Beauprez
Robert L. "Bob" Beauprez is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 7th Congressional District of Colorado....

(R) was reelected to a second term in 2004 with 55% of the vote, after winning his first term by only 121 votes. His retirement to make an unsuccessful run for Governor of Colorado
Governor of Colorado
The Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...

made this seat highly competitive. The 7th District is located in the northern and eastern Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

suburbs. State education chairman Rick O'Donnell was unopposed for the Republican nomination, while State Senator Ed Perlmutter
Ed Perlmutter
Edwin George "Ed" Perlmutter is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.- Early life, education and career:...

won a three-way Democratic primary. On election night, Perlmutter won Beauprez's old seat as expected, 55% to 42%. (For details, see Colorado 7th congressional district election, 2006.)

Connecticut

— Incumbent Rob Simmons
Rob Simmons
Robert Ruhl "Rob" Simmons is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and former U.S. Congressman from Connecticut. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, representing Connecticut's Second Congressional District as a Republican.Simmons ran as a candidate for the...

(R), a Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

veteran and former CIA agent, won reelection by 54% to 46% in 2004, in a Democratic-leaning district encompassing eastern Connecticut, including Norwich
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...

and New London
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

. The 2002 nominee, former state Representative Joe Courtney
Joe Courtney (politician)
Joseph Courtney is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:Courtney grew up in suburban Hartford and became a 1975 graduate of Tufts University...

, decided to make another run. Even though in the past Simmons had been able to win elections in the Democratic-leaning district by painting himself as a moderate, the seat is perennially competitive. The results were so close on election night that the race was not settled until a week later. A recount was completed on November 14, 2006, with the final results giving Joe Courtney an 83-vote victory over Rob Simmons.http://www.nbc30.com/politics/10318760/detail.html It was the closest house race of 2006.

— Although incumbent Nancy Johnson
Nancy Johnson (politician)
Nancy Lee Johnson is a former American politician from the state of Connecticut. Johnson was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing first the 6th district and later the 5th District of Connecticut following the elimination of the 6th...

(R) won with at least 60% of the vote in 2004 and faced a difficult challenge (running against a fellow incumbent in a redrawn district) in 2002, winning with just 54%, she was still a Republican in a swing district. While the 5th is Connecticut's most conservative region, John Kerry won the district by about 1100 votes in 2004 and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

won it when Johnson represented it as the 6th District in 2000. The district is located in Northwestern Connecticut and includes a large portion of Waterbury
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...

, Danbury
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....

, the wealthy western suburbs of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, and small rural towns. Johnson faced a credible challenge from state Senator Chris Murphy
Chris Murphy (politician)
Christopher Scott "Chris" Murphy is the U. S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.Murphy previously served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut Senate....

. She was popular in the district, but with Bush's rating in New England at rock bottom, a Democratic victory was possible. Early in the cycle, this race was considered the least competitive of the three Republican-held seats in Connecticut, but Murphy defeated Johnson on election night, winning 56% to 44%.

Florida

— This Republican-leaning South Florida district, which includes West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...

, Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...

on the state's east coast and Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte, Florida
Port Charlotte is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 46,451 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

on the west coast, was represented by Mark Foley
Mark Foley
Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....

, head of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. However, Foley resigned September 29, 2006 due to revelations of inappropriate contacts of a sexual nature with underage male congressional pages. The scandal immediately ballooned to include the Republican leadership's involvement in a possible cover-up, and it soon brought down Republicans nationwide. Florida law bars state parties from replacing candidates on the ballot. Within the district, the scandal created strong backlash against any Republican replacement due to Foley's name remaining on the ballot, and, by extension, made the race, which had earlier been written off by most as a "safe" Republican seat, highly competitive. Businessman Tim Mahoney
Tim Mahoney
Timothy Edward "Tim" Mahoney was a U.S. Representative for and a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected in November 2006 after his opponent, six-term Republican incumbent Mark Foley, resigned on September 29, 2006, after questions were raised about an email exchange with a congressional...

, a surprisingly well-funded challenger in a seemingly uncompetitive race, quickly became favored to win. The Republican replacement, businessman Joe Negron
Joe Negron
Joe Negron is the senator for Florida's state senate district 28. He is also a former member of the Florida House of Representatives who served from 2000 to 2006. He represented District 82, serving Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee...

, ran an effective "Punch Foley for Negron" campaign, but lost in a closer than expected race, with 48% to Mahoney's 49%.

— Republican E. Clay Shaw had been in Congress since 1981, and had represented the 22nd District since 1993. The district voted for John Kerry over George Bush in 2004, but re-elected Shaw with 63% against a last minute replacement Democrat. In 2000, Shaw won a close race by 599 votes in a district that Al Gore won by 4%, but in 2002, he was redistricted into a slightly less Democratic district and scored an easy victory. The district includes wealthy areas of Palm Beach County and Broward County including Boca Raton
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...

and parts of Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

The revelation that Shaw was being treated for a second time for lung cancer may have affected his re-election chances. This year, Shaw faced a challenge from well-funded state senator Ron Klein
Ron Klein
Ronald "Ron" Klein is a lawyer and former member of the United States House of Representatives for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He is currently employed by the law firm Holland & Knight.-Early life,...

. Klein won on election day 51% to 47%.

Indiana

— Chris Chocola
Chris Chocola
Joseph Christopher "Chris" Chocola is the president of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative political organization that supports a low-tax and limited-government agenda....

(R) was first elected in 2002 by a 50% to 46% margin. Democrat Joe Donnelly
Joe Donnelly
Joseph Simon "Joe" Donnelly, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Donnelly announced Monday May 9 that he would run for the United States Senate seat that is held by Republican Richard Lugar.-Early life, education and career:Joe Donnelly...

, who lost to Chocola 54% to 45% in 2004, ran again in 2006. Democrats blamed Donnelly's 2004 loss on a lack of funding from the national party that allowed Chocola to outspend Donnelly by a two-to-one margin. President Bush visited the South Bend
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

-centered district seven times between 2000 and 2006, suggesting that Chocola was vulnerable. Chocola's popularity was also affected by the unpopularity of GOP Governor Mitch Daniels
Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. is the 49th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his first four-year term as governor on January 10, 2005, and was elected to his second term by an 18-point margin on November 4, 2008. Previously, he was the Director of the...

; among other things, Daniels decided to lease a toll road that runs through the district to a foreign corporation. Daniels also pushed to move the entire state to daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...

, which was opposed by local residents. In the campaign, Chocola attacked Donnelly for being delinquent in paying property taxes. On election night, Donnelly defeated Chocola 54% to 46%.

— John Hostettler
John Hostettler
John Nathan Hostettler , was a Republican candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in the state of Indiana held by retiring Senator Evan Bayh. On December 3, 2009, Hostettler announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, but lost to former Senator Dan Coats.Hostettler served in the U.S...

(R), who had only a 34% approval rating, was challenged by Vanderburgh County
Vanderburgh County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 171,922 people, 70,623 households, and 44,421 families residing in the county. The population density was 733 people per square mile . There were 76,300 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...

Sheriff Brad Ellsworth
Brad Ellsworth
John Bradley "Brad" Ellsworth is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011, and was the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate seat currently held by Dan Coats...

in this swing district that includes Evansville
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...

and Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

. Hostettler had a history of winning tough reelections, but Ellsworth was considered to be his strongest opponent. The district has been nicknamed "The Bloody Eighth" due to its frequent ousting of incumbent congressmen, which has occurred in 1958, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1994, and 2006. Despite the competitive nature of the district, Hostettler was traditionally slow to raise money and lagged far behind his opponent in fundraising totals throughout the election. Rumors circulated in September that Hostettler had essentially given up on his campaign when he failed to hold any events on Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...

weekend, the traditional kickoff of the campaign season. In the end, Ellsworth defeated Hostettler by a 61%-39% margin, the most lopsided loss for a House incumbent since 1994.

— In 2004, incumbent Mike Sodrel
Mike Sodrel
Michael E. "Mike" Sodrel served as the United States Representative from the Ninth Congressional district of Indiana, representing the Republican Party, for one term from 2004. Sodrel's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives was his first public office. Sodrel launched another run against...

(R) defeated then-incumbent Baron Hill
Baron Hill
Baron Paul Hill is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1999 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

by only 1,425 votes, the smallest winning percentage in any congressional race that year. Hill ran in 2006 to reclaim his seat in this Southeast Indiana district that includes Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

and New Albany
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...

. He defeated anti-war challenger Gretchen Clearwater in the May 2 primary. Factors cited in the race included Sodrel being a self-described staunch Republican Party loyalist in an evenly divided district, Hill lacking the advantages of incumbency in 2006, and (according to Democrats) Hill's superior constituent service compared to Sodrel's. Hill defeated Sodrel 50% to 46%.

Iowa

— Incumbent Jim Nussle
Jim Nussle
James Allen "Jim" Nussle is an American politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2007...

(R) left his seat in congress to run for governor. This district is Democratic-leaning, and of the open seats was one of the most likely to change hands. It contains most of northeastern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

including large cities such as Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

, the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...

and Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

. Nussle had been reelected in 2000 and 2004 with 55% of the vote but Al Gore and John Kerry won the district in those same years. In 2006, businessman Mike Whalen
Mike Whalen
Mike Whalen is an American athlete and coach. He was a collegiate wrestler and football player at Wesleyan University. He spent six years as the head football coach at Williams College, where he won four consecutive Little Three football championships...

won the Republican nomination while attorney Bruce Braley
Bruce Braley
Bruce Braley is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district lies in northeastern Iowa and includes Davenport, Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Dubuque, and Clinton....

was the Democratic nominee. Braley defeated Whalen 55 percent to 43 percent. (For details, see Iowa 1st congressional district election, 2006.)

— Incumbent Jim Leach
Jim Leach
James Albert Smith "Jim" Leach is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. In August 2009, he became Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities ....

(R) received 59% of the vote in 2004. Before the election, this was the most Democratic seat held by a Republican, as measured by presidential candidates' performances in the district. However, Leach had consistently won here since 1976, helped by his reputation for strong integrity. Also helping him was his status as one of the most liberal Republicans in the House. As a result, Leach traditionally won large numbers of crossover votes from Democrats and was expected to do so again. The Democrats nominated David Loebsack
David Loebsack
David Wayne "Dave" Loebsack is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in southeastern Iowa and includes Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Ottumwa...

, a political science professor at small Cornell College
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...

in Mount Vernon, Iowa
Mount Vernon, Iowa
Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of a Cornell...

. Despite Leach's appeal and seniority, Loebsack prevailed on election night by a 51% to 49% margin. Leach's defeat made him the most senior House member to lose re-election in 2006 and the most senior member to lose re-election since 36-year incumbent Phil Crane
Phil Crane
Philip Miller "Phil" Crane is a former American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 2005, representing the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago...

lost in 2004 in an upset to Melissa Bean
Melissa Bean
Melissa Luburich Bean is a former U.S. Representative for the who served from 2005 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...

.

Kansas

— Incumbent Jim Ryun
Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun is an American former track athlete and politician, who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing the 2nd District in Kansas. In the 2006 election, Ryun was defeated by Democratic challenger Nancy Boyda...

(R), a leading conservative, won re-election by 56% to 41% in 2004 and had held his seat for five terms. This year, Ryun faced a rematch with Democrat Nancy Boyda
Nancy Boyda
Nancy Boyda is a former Democratic congresswoman representing .On November 4, 2008, Boyda was defeated for re-election by Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, after serving one term....

, who also ran against him in 2004. The district is home to Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

, Manhattan
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...

(location of Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

), Leavenworth
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

, Pittsburg
Pittsburg, Kansas
Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, United States. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in southeastern Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,233.-History:...

, and half of the liberal college town of Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

, home of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

. Despite being held by Ryun, the seat had a history of electing Democrats and before 1994, Democrats held the seat for 20 out of 24 years. However, gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...

had made the seat tilt more Republican, and Ryun was thought to be secure. However, Ryun faced controversy over a Washington, D.C. real estate purchase, and in the wake of scandals that rocked Washington, D.C., this had a major effect on local voters, far more than had been expected. Boyda was also helped by the reelection of popular Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...

. Boyda defeated the incumbent Ryun 51% to 47%, in one of the most shocking results of the night.

Kentucky

— Incumbent Anne Northup
Anne Northup
Anne Meagher Northup is an American Republican politician from the state of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives, where she served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee...

(R) had been a target for the Democrats since her election in 1996; in 2004 and 2000, John Kerry and Al Gore both won her Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

-centered congressional district by two percent, and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

won the district by double-digit margins during the 1990s. While Northup had generally run close races, she won 60% of the vote in the 2004 election. Redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...

after the 2000 census added a few more suburban Republicans to the district, according to Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...

. The Democratic candidate was John Yarmuth
John Yarmuth
John Yarmuth is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.- Early life, education and career :...

, the founder of local free publication LEO
Louisville Eccentric Observer
The Louisville Eccentric Observer is a free weekly newspaper , distributed every Wednesday in over 800 locations throughout the Louisville, Kentucky area, including areas of southern Indiana...

. In spite of Northup's electoral success, excellent constituent services, and popularity among blue-collar voters in southern Louisville, Democrats saw this race as winnable, calling attention to Northup's 91% lockstep voting record with an unpopular President Bush. Northup led in most polls until October, when Yarmuth began to gain. By election night, the race had become highly competitive. House Majority Leader John Boehner
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...

referred to Northup as the Republicans' "canary in the coal mine", meaning that her fortunes would portend the outcome of House elections nationwide. This proved to be a correct assessment, as on election night, Yarmuth defeated Northup 51% to 48% and Republicans lost control of the House.

Minnesota

— Incumbent Gil Gutknecht
Gil Gutknecht
Gilbert William "Gil" Gutknecht, Jr. is an American politician. Gutknecht was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota's 1st congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota...

(R) was reelected in his Southern Minnesota district with 60% of the vote in 2004. A member of the 1994 Republican Revolution
Republican Revolution
The Republican Revolution or Revolution of '94 is what the media dubbed Republican Party success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate...

, Gutknecht had promised not to run for a seventh term when first elected. Though not expected to be significant, the broken promise proved to be a factor in his defeat. Geography teacher Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...

was the Democratic nominee and ran a much stronger campaign than expected, helped by the massive decline in President George W. Bush's popularity in Minnesota. Walz defeated Gutknecht 53%-47%.http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/MN/H/01/index.html

New Hampshire

— Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley
Jeb Bradley
Joseph E. "Jeb" Bradley is a Republican member of the New Hampshire State Senate, currently serving as Senate Majority Leader. He represents his hometown of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and 16 other towns in east-central New Hampshire. He was formerly a U.S...

was seeking a third term. Rochester Democratic chair Carol Shea-Porter won the nomination in a major upset against better funded and party-favored state House Democratic Leader Jim Craig. Although this was the one house district in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

Bush carried in 2004, and Bradley had won it handily in the past, the President was highly unpopular throughout New England, which gave Democrats an opening. Still, most thought that Bradley was the strong favorite to win. Shea-Porter defeated Bradley 52% to 48% in the most shocking upset of the night, along with the victories of David Loebsack
David Loebsack
David Wayne "Dave" Loebsack is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in southeastern Iowa and includes Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Ottumwa...

and Nancy Boyda
Nancy Boyda
Nancy Boyda is a former Democratic congresswoman representing .On November 4, 2008, Boyda was defeated for re-election by Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, after serving one term....

.

— Incumbent Charles Bass (R) won reelection in 2004 with 58% percent of the vote, even as his district was won by John Kerry 52% to 47%. Bass, a political moderate, easily defeated primary challenges from Berlin
Berlin, New Hampshire
Berlin is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest...

Mayor Bob Danderson and Mary Maxwell. The Democratic nominee, Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes
Paul Hodes is an attorney, musician, and the former U.S. Representative for , serving fom 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was New Hampshire's first Jewish representative....

, an attorney, was also the 2004 Democratic nominee. In late September, a top Bass staffer resigned after news stories that a U.S. Government computer in Bass's DC office had been used to post anonymous concern troll messages to NH blogs. In these messages, "IndyNH" claimed to be a supporter of Paul Hodes who was discouraged by Bass's unbeatable lead. Hodes defeated Bass on election day, 53% to 46%.

New York

— Incumbent Sue Kelly (R) had rarely faced stiff competition since her initial election in 1994, but the Democratic primary attracted six contenders in 2006, two of whom dropped out before the primary. Former Ulster County Legislator John Hall, who was once a member of the popular rock band, Orleans
Orleans (band)
Orleans is an American pop-rock band best known for its hits "Dance with Me" , "Still the One", from the album Waking and Dreaming and "Love Takes Time" . The group's name evolved from the music it was playing at the time of their formation, which was inspired by Louisiana artists such as Allen...

, won the Democratic nomination with 49% of the vote in a multi-candidate primary. An October 26 Majority-Watch poll had him leading 49% to 47% http://constituentdynamics.com/mw/race-summary. Several factors played into Kelly's defeat, including the extremely weak GOP showing in the senatorial and gubernatorial races, her reluctance to answer questions about the Mark Foley Page Scandal (notoriously, she literally ran away from television cameras at one point), and Hall's quirky campaign style, which included an appearance on the satirical Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

program The Colbert Report. Hall defeated Kelly 51% to 49%. Following Hall's election, Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...

took credit for the victory and attributed it entirely to Hall's appearance on the show. Hall appeared several days later to satirically thank the host for his seat in Congress.

— Incumbent John E. Sweeney
John E. Sweeney
John E. Sweeney is a politician from the U.S. state of New York. A Republican, he represented New York's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from January 1999 to January 2007. He was defeated for reelection in November 2006 by Democrat Kirsten...

(R) had never faced a particularly competitive election until 2006. His competitive district fueled a strong challenge from attorney Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...

. In April 2006, Sweeney was allegedly sighted intoxicated at a fraternity party.http://www.concordy.com/media/storage/paper858/news/2006/04/27/News/Congressman.Sweeney.Socializes.With.Students-1881202.shtml?norewrite200612211806&sourcedomain=www.concordy.com On October 31, a week before the election, a police report surfaced that documented a 911 call from his wife asking for help because her husband was "knocking her around the room". Despite denials from both Sweeney and his wife, the report proved to be a turning point and Gillibrand was victorious on election night, 53% to 47%. (For details, see New York 20th congressional district election, 2006
New York 20th congressional district election, 2006
The New York 20th congressional district election for the 110th Congress was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent John E. Sweeney was the nominee for the Republican Party, while attorney Kirsten Gillibrand was the nominee for the Democratic Party...

.)

— Incumbent Sherwood Boehlert
Sherwood Boehlert
Sherwood "Sherry" Louis Boehlert is a retired American politician from New York. He represented upstate New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007. Boehlert, a Republican, was considered to be a member of the party's moderate wing. In 2003, Utica Union Station was...

(R) announced his retirement after 24 years, making this a seat of considerable focus for the Democrats in the run up to the mid terms. Boehlert is considered a moderate Republican, and the district is considered to be competitive. George Bush won by 53% in the 2004 election, but by only 3,000 votes in the 2000 presidential election. The Republican nominee was state Senator Ray Meier, while the Democratic nominee was Oneida County
Oneida County, New York
Oneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234,878. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....

District Attorney Mike Arcuri
Mike Arcuri
Michael Angelo "Mike" Arcuri is the former U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He lost re-election on November 2, 2010, to Republican Richard L...

. Both were locally popular and proven vote-getters and the race was a toss-up. Arcuri defeated Meier 54% to 45%.

North Carolina

— Charles H. Taylor
Charles H. Taylor
Charles Hart Taylor is an American politician; a Republican, he represented North Carolina's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He began serving in 1991 and continued through January 3, 2007....

(R) won with 55% in 2004, far behind George W. Bush in the area. The district consists of the North Carolina Panhandle around Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

. Dogged by ethics-related scandals, Taylor faced tougher competition from former professional quarterback
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

Heath Shuler
Heath Shuler
Joseph Heath Shuler is a businessman, a former NFL quarterback, and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

(D) in 2006. A July 10 poll by Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling is an American Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. PPP was founded in 2001 by businessman and Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, the firm's current president and chief executive officer...

showed that Shuler led Taylor by 51% to 45% http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/web_PPP_Survey_071106.pdf. Shuler defeated Taylor 54%-46%.

Ohio

— Bob Ney
Bob Ney
Robert William Ney is an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. A Republican, Ney represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until November 3, 2006, when he resigned...

(R), the incumbent since 1995, part of the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal
Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal
The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal is a United States political scandal relating to the work performed by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Indian casino gambling interests for an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon...

, withdrew from the race in early August 2006, before pleading guilty a month later to criminal charges. Zack Space
Zack Space
Zachary T. "Zack" Space is an American politician and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...

, the law director of the city of Dover
Dover, Ohio
Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,210 at the 2000 census.-History and features:Dover was originally part of a grant to Col. James Morrison of Kentucky, who had received it from the federal government for Revolutionary War services...

, was the surprise winner of the Democratic nomination. Ney's formal withdrawal on August 14 resulted in a special election to choose his replacement; Ohio state Senator Joy Padgett
Joy Padgett
Joy Padgett is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, representing the 20th district until the end of 2008. In 2006, dogged by personal scandals, she ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and for Congress in...

won with about 65% of the vote. Her candidacy was subsequently damaged by news reports about her business and personal bankruptcies. Space defeated Padgett, 62% to 38%.

Pennsylvania

— Jason Altmire
Jason Altmire
Jason Altmire is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life and education:...

(D) upset incumbent Republican Melissa Hart in a surprise victory for the Democrats in this suburban Pittsburgh district. Altmire's background was in health care policy and legislative relations; he was overseer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and...

's Office of Charitable Giving before leaving to run for office in June 2005. Hart had seemed untouchable only a few months before the election, and was still generally expected to win on Election Day. Hart blamed her defeat on Altmire's campaign ads that tied her with the locally unpopular president. Altmire defeated Hart, 52% to 48%.

— Curt Weldon
Curt Weldon
Wayne Curtis "Curt" Weldon is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed...

(R) won reelection with 59% of the vote in 2004, but represents a Democratic-leaning district that incorporates much of Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....

in suburban Philadelphia. He faced retired Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

Joe Sestak (D). On October 13, it was reported that Weldon and his daughter are being investigated by the FBI, and two days later the FBI raided his daughter's residence. Between Sestak's fundraising abilities, and the investigation of Weldon and his daughter, Sestak defeated Weldon, 56% to 44%.

— Mike Fitzpatrick
Mike Fitzpatrick
Michael G. "Mike" Fitzpatrick is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He was reelected to Congress in 2010, and previously represented the district from 2005 to 2007, but lost to Patrick Murphy in 2006....

(R) won election for the first time in 2004 by a wide 56-42 margin over Virginia "Ginny" Schrader, but his district, based in suburban Bucks County, is politically moderate, having voted for Democratic presidents and Republican congressmen since 1992. His Democratic opponent in 2006 was retired Captain Patrick Murphy
Patrick Murphy (politician)
Patrick Joseph Murphy is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

, an Iraq War veteran of the Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

's 82nd Airborne. The Iraq War was the major issue of the campaign. In 2005, Murphy proposed a plan for phased withdrawal; Fitzpatrick stood by President Bush's stay-the-course policy through most of the campaign, before calling for a new plan. Ultimately, Murphy defeated Fitzpatrick by 1,518 votes.

— Don Sherwood
Don Sherwood
Donald L. "Don" Sherwood is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district, from 1999 to 2007...

(R) had strong backing as a result of redistricting in this heavy GOP district. The Democrats didn't even field a candidate to run against him in 2002 and 2004. But in 2005 details were made public regarding a five-year affair between Sherwood and Cynthia Ore
Cynthia Ore
Cynthia Mirella Ore is a Maryland woman who gained brief notoriety in the second half of 2005 and during the 2006 midterm election, as a result of her widely publicized extramarital affair with Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district Representative Don Sherwood...

, who sued Sherwood for $5.5 million alleging physical abuse. On November 8, 2005, the two settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Sherwood was expected to win the Republican primary easily over teacher Kathy Scott, as she had very little money or campaign staff, but she polled a surprising 44% of the vote against him. His Democratic opponent was professor and U.S. Naval Reserve officer Chris Carney
Chris Carney
Christopher P. "Chris" Carney is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a prominent member of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition....

. Carney led in the polls for most of the fall. Carney defeated Sherwood 53% to 47%. For details, see Pennsylvania 10th congressional district election, 2006.

Texas

— Incumbent former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) won the primary, then retired, leaving his seat vacant, and dropped out of the re-election race. These events followed a number of corruption charges that made DeLay the focus of a September 28, 2005 indictment by a grand jury in Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...

(which includes Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

) over his campaign finances related to Texans for a Republican Majority
Texans for a Republican Majority
Texans for a Republican Majority or TRMPAC is a general-purpose political action committee registered with the Texas Ethics Commission. It was founded in 2001 by former Republican Texas U.S. Rep...

(TRMPAC) and another political action committee, ARMPAC
Americans for a Republican Majority
Americans for a Republican Majority was a political action committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and directed by Karl Gallant. On July 7, 2006 ARMPAC reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay a fine of $115,000 for various violations and to...

. In 2004, DeLay won 55% of the vote against a relatively unknown Democrat, environmental lawyer Richard Morrison, even though George W. Bush carried the suburban Houston district with 64% of the vote. Democrats sued to keep Delay as the Republican nominee when he withdrew, citing a lack of proof of residence outside the district, since Texas law does not allow a party to replace its nominee unless the candidate cannot run due to extraordinary circumstances or if he or she moves away. The Democrats won the suit, and Delay was forced to remain on the ballot or leave his party without a nominee. Republicans quickly rallied around Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...

to run a write-in campaign to defeat Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....

the Democratic nominee. Lampson defeated Sekula-Gibbs 52%-42%.

— In 2004, incumbent Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla
Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...

(R) received nearly 70% of the vote. However, his district, which includes several heavily Republican suburbs of San Antonio, as well as Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Texas. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, which includes more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56...

and much of Texas' border with Mexico, had to be changed after a mid-2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the redistricting efforts of the Texas Legislature violated Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....

protection of minorities — largely Hispanic Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

was in the 23rd District until the redistricting. On August 4, a federal court redrew the district and removed the portion of Webb County that was in the district, eliminating the possibility of a rematch with Cuellar, and added a heavily Democratic portion of San Antonio, the home base of liberal former congressman Ciro Rodriguez. Rodriguez ran against Bonilla in the all-candidate primary on November 7. http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/08/rodriguez_to_mount_comeback_bi.html. The winner of the now somewhat irrelevant Democratic primary, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

Combat Veteran Rick Bolanos, also ran in the November 7 election. The realigned district is less Republican than the previous version, but Bonilla was still favored against the crowded field of six Democrats, including Rodriguez and Bolanos, and one Independent candidate. A majority was required in this special election to avoid a runoff between the top two contenders. Bonilla won the November 7 election with 49% of the vote, but failed to get the needed 50% of the vote to avoid the runoff. In that runoff, he faced Rodriguez, who got 20% of the special election vote. Bonilla was seen as being the favorite. He ignored Rodriguez until the final days, then ran TV ads portraying him as politically aligned with some Islamic terror supporters, which backfired. In the special election however, Rodriguez was able to portray himself as part of an incoming majority, which would help retain federal funding for programs in the district. Rodriguez defeated Bonilla in the runoff 54% to 46%.

Vermont

— Incumbent Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...

(I), a democratic socialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...

who represented the entire state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, ran for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jim Jeffords
Jim Jeffords
James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent. He retired from the Senate in 2006.-Background:...

. Vermont state Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Welch (D-Windsor County), the Democratic nominee, faced former Vermont Adjutant General Martha Rainville
Martha Rainville
Martha Rainville is a former Vermont National Guard Adjutant General, and retired Air Force Major General. In 2006 she ran as the Republican candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district...

, Major General, USANG (ret.), the Republican nominee. Welch was helped when state Representative David Zuckerman
David Zuckerman
David Zuckerman is a farmer and a Progressive member of the Vermont House of Representatives, representing Chittenden-3-4 district. He grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts where he attended Brookline High School.-Career:...

decided not to wage a third-party campaign. Keith Stern, a businessman and zoning board member from Springfield, ran as an Independent; Jane Newton, a retired nurse, ran on the socialist Liberty Union line; and Jerry Trudell http://www.vote-usa.org/Intro.aspx?Id=VTTrudellJerry ran as an Independent. Welch defeated Rainville 53% to 45%.

Wisconsin

— Incumbent Mark Green (R) — Green ran for governor, and his seat, in northeastern Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, was Republican-leaning, although it has elected a Democratic congressman as recently as 1996 and is centered around the cities of Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...

and Appleton
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...

. State Assembly Speaker John Gard
John Gard
John Gard was a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 89th Assembly District from 1987 until 2007. He served as Speaker of the State Assembly from 2003 until 2007....

won the September 12 Republican primary as expected, in which he faced state Assemblywoman Terri McCormick
Terri McCormick
Terri McCormick was a Wisconsin State Representative representing the 56th district in the northeastern part of the state from 2000 until 2007. She unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in Wisconsin's 8th congressional District in 2006, losing to John Gard...

. The Democratic nominee, Steve Kagen
Steve Kagen
Steven Leslie Kagen, M.D. is a physician and was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...

M.D., defeated business consultant Jamie Wall
Jamie Wall
Jamie Wall is a British auto racing driver. His best years in motor sports were at a young age.-Racing career:...

and former De Pere Mayor and Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum after a very competitive primary. Kagen defeated Gard 51% to 49%. (For details, see Wisconsin 8th congressional district election, 2006.)

External links

2006 Election Guide The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
check on voter registration
2006 Election Projections Survey

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