2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado

The 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on November 7, 2006, with all seven House seats up for election. The winners served from January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2009.

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado

November 7, 2006
All 7 Colorado seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 3 4 Seats won 4 3 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 832,888 623,784 Percentage 54.12% 40.53% Swing 5.31% 8.11%
Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Republican   40–50%   50–60%

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado, 2006
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	832,888	54.12%	4	+1
	Republican	623,784	40.53%	3	-1
	Green	38,849	2.52%	0	-
	Reform	27,133	1.76%	0	-
	Libertarian	13,535	0.88%	0	-
	American Constitution	2,605	0.17%	0	-
Totals		1,538,908	100.00%	7	-

District 1

See also: Colorado's 1st congressional district

Opposed by no Republican candidate, incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette easily won a fifth term over Green Party candidate Thomas D. Kelly.

Colorado's 1st congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Diana DeGette (incumbent)	129,446	79.77
	Green	Thomas D. Kelly	32,825	20.23
Total votes			162,271	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Colorado's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Mark Udall dispatched with Republican nominee Rich Mancuso, Libertarian nominee Norm Olsen, and Green candidate J. A. Calhoun to win a fifth term in this Boulder-based district.

Colorado's 2nd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Udall (incumbent)	157,850	68.24
	Republican	Rich Mancuso	65,481	28.31
	Libertarian	Norm Olsen	5,025	2.17
	Green	J. A. Calhoun	2,951	1.28
Total votes			231,307	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 3

2006 Colorado's 3rd congressional district election

Nominee John Salazar Scott Tipton Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 146,488 86,930 Percentage 61.59% 36.55%

County results Salazar:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%     80-90% Tipton:      40-50%     50-60%

U.S. Representative before election John Salazar Democratic Elected U.S. Representative John Salazar Democratic

See also: Colorado's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Democratic Congressman John Salazar, the brother of Senator Ken Salazar, won a second term in this conservative, west Colorado district over Republican nominee and Colorado State Representative Scott Tipton and Libertarian nomine Bert Sargent.

Endorsements

John Salazar (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate

Colorado's 3rd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Salazar (incumbent)	146,488	61.59
	Republican	Scott Tipton	86,930	36.55
	Libertarian	Bert L. Sargent	4,417	1.86
	Write-ins		23	0.01
Total votes			237,858	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 4

2006 Colorado's 4th congressional district election

Nominee Marilyn Musgrave Angie Paccione Eric Eidsness Party Republican Democratic Reform Popular vote 109,732 103,748 27,133 Percentage 45.6% 43.1% 11.3%

County results Musgrave:     40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Paccione:      40-50%

U.S. Representative before election Marilyn Musgrave Republican Elected U.S. Representative Marilyn Musgrave Republican

See also: Colorado's 4th congressional district

Emerging from surprisingly narrow wins in this conservative, east Colorado-based district, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave thinly edged out the Democratic nominee, Colorado State Representative Angie Paccione and Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness, who garnered an impressive 11.28% of the vote.

Angie Paccione (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate

Colorado's 4th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marilyn Musgrave (incumbent)	109,732	45.61
	Democratic	Angie Paccione	103,748	43.12
	Reform	Eric Eidsness	27,133	11.28
Total votes			240,613	100.00
	Republican hold

District 5

See also: Colorado's 5th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Joel Hefley declined to seek an eleventh term, creating an open seat in this conservative district based in Colorado Springs and its suburbs. Emerging from a particularly nasty and bitterly fought primary, Republican nominee Doug Lamborn, a Colorado State Senator, was not endorsed by the retiring Hefley.

On August 29, 2006, Hefley expressed anger that his successor was not his top aide, Jeff Crank. Commenting on the primary campaign, Hefley said, "I spent eight years trying to get rid of the sleaze factor in Congress. [...] It's not something I can do to help put more sleaze factor in Congress." Hefley was incensed at tactics such as a mailed brochure from the Christian Coalition of Colorado associating Crank with "public support for members and efforts of the homosexual agenda." Hefley said that he "suspected, but couldn't prove, collusion between Lamborn's campaign, which is managed by Jon Hotaling, and the Christian Coalition of Colorado, which is run by Hotaling's brother, Mark." Hefley called it "one of the sleaziest, most dishonest campaigns I've seen in a long time," and refused to endorse Lamborn.

Despite this setback, Lamborn ultimately defeated Democratic nominee Jay Fawcett, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.

Endorsements

Jay Fawcett (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate

Colorado's 5th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Lamborn	123,264	59.62
	Democratic	Jay Fawcett	83,431	40.35
	Write-ins		61	0.03
Total votes			206,756	100.00
	Republican hold

District 6

See also: Colorado's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, well known for his staunchly conservative, anti-illegal immigration views, faced off against Democratic nominee Bill Winter, a lawyer and former legislative aide to Senator John McCain, albeit by a smaller margin than Tancredo is used to in this solidly conservative district based in the Denver suburbs.

Colorado's 6th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Tancredo (incumbent)	158,806	58.61
	Democratic	Bill Winter	108,007	39.87
	Libertarian	Jack J. Woehr	4,093	1.51
	Write-ins		25	0.01
Total votes			270,931	100.00
	Republican hold

District 7

See also: Colorado's 7th congressional district

When incumbent Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez declined to seek a third term so that he could run for Governor, this district emerged as a top pick-up opportunity for House Democrats. Former Colorado State Senator Ed Perlmutter, the Democratic nominee, defeated the Republican nominee, Rick O'Donnell, Green Party nominee Dave Chandler, and Constitution Party nominee Roger McCarville by a solid margin.

Endorsements

Ed Perlmutter (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate

Colorado's 7th congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ed Perlmutter	103,918	54.93
	Republican	Rick O'Donnell	79,571	42.06
	Green	Dave Chandler	3,073	1.62
	Constitution	Roger McCarville	2,605	1.38
	Write-ins		5	0.00
Total votes			189,172	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican