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2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

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The 2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Lincoln Chafee sought re-election to a second full term in office, the seat he had held since 1999 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father John Chafee. He lost to Democratic nominee, former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse by a 7-point margin.[1] Lincoln Chafee later left the Republican Party in September 2007 before running successfully as an Independent for Governor of Rhode Island in 2010.

2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
← 2000 November 7, 2006 2012 →
 
Nominee Sheldon Whitehouse Lincoln Chafee
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 206,109 179,001
Percentage 53.52% 46.48%
Whitehouse:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Chafee:      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Lincoln Chafee
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse
Democratic

Whitehouse carried Providence County, which contains approximately 60% of the state's population, with 59% to Chafee's 41%. Chafee's strongest showing was in Washington County (South County), where he took 55% of the vote against Whitehouse's 45%. After the election, when asked by a reporter if he thought his defeat would help the country by giving Democrats control of Congress, Chafee replied, "to be honest, yes."[2]

As of 2023, this was the last time the Republican candidates won the counties of Bristol and Washington in a statewide election. Democrats won this Senate seat for the first time since 1970; this also marked the first time since that election that the winner of Rhode Island's Class 1 Senate seat was not a member of the Chafee family. Chafee would go on to run for governor and was elected in 2010. Sheldon Whitehouse's inauguration or swearing-in marked the first time since the resignation of John Pastore in 1976 that Democrats held both Senate seats from Rhode Island.

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Whitehouse was endorsed by U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Congressmen Jim Langevin and Patrick J. Kennedy, as well as by former candidate Matt Brown. Sheeler, a former U.S. Marine, a business owner, and an adjunct professor of business, ran on a more progressive platform. Ultimately, however, Whitehouse would trounce his competition in the primary on September 12, winning his party's support by a large margin.

Results

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Democratic primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse 69,290 81.53
Democratic Christopher F. Young 8,939 10.52
Democratic Carl Sheeler 6,755 7.95
Total votes 84,984 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Incumbent Lincoln Chafee was one of the most liberal members of the Republican Party in the Senate by 2006, and was challenged for the Republican nomination by Laffey who had criticized Chafee for his liberal voting record in the Senate. In early 2006, the Club for Growth, a pro-tax cut political action committee, sent a series of mailings to Rhode Island Republicans attacking Chafee's positions and voting record.

The national GOP supported Chafee in the primary campaign, believing that he was the most likely candidate to hold the seat in the general election. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senator John McCain of Arizona and First Lady Laura Bush appeared at fundraisers for Chafee, while Senator Bill Frist's PAC donated to Chafee. The National Republican Senatorial Committee also ran ads in the state supporting Chafee. Steve Laffey, however, picked up many endorsements from Republican town committees throughout Rhode Island, the national group Club for Growth, and former candidate for the party's presidential nomination Steve Forbes. On July 10, 2006, the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Laffey, saying that he had included a political communication in tax bills mailed to residents of Cranston.[4]

Debates

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Polling

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Source Date Lincoln
Chafee 		Steve
Laffey
Rhode Island College[5] April 2006 56% 28%
American Research Group[6] May 5, 2006 48% 39%
Club for Growth/National Research Inc.[7] June 2, 2006 45% 44%
Rhode Island College[8] June 2006 39% 38%
Rhode Island College[9] August 28–30, 2006 34% 51%
RNSC/Public Opinion Strategies[10] August 30, 2006 53% 39%

Results

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Results by county:
  Chafee—50–60%
  Laffey—50–60%
Republican primary results[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lincoln Chafee (incumbent) 34,936 54.18
Republican Steve Laffey 29,547 45.82
Total votes 64,483 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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Campaign

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Democrats believed that this was one of the most likely Senate seats to switch party control, due to the Democratic tilt of Rhode Island, as well as the fact that Chafee needed to expend part of his campaign fund to win the Republican primary election. Chafee's approval ratings also took a beating from his primary battle with Laffey and may have hurt him in the general election. Another factor that hurt Chafee was the fact that Whitehouse, the Democratic nominee, had a huge head start on him, as he was able to campaign with little opposition for at least half the year and had not had to contend with a major opponent until the general election campaign. Rhode Islanders' historically large disapproval ratings for President George W. Bush and the Republican Party as a whole was another major hurdle for Chafee.

Debates

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Issues

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Whitehouse and Chafee did not have large differences on political issues. On social issues, they were almost entirely in agreement with each other. Chafee was also against the Bush tax cuts. On fiscal issues, such as social security and trade, they were however in disagreement.

  • Abortion
    • Chafee - pro-choice
    • Whitehouse - pro-choice
  • Stem-Cell research
    • Chafee - support
    • Whitehouse - support
  • Death penalty
    • Chafee - strongly opposes
    • Whitehouse - support in federal level, but not in state level
  • Gay Marriage
    • Chafee - supports
    • Whitehouse - supports
  • Privatizing Social Security
    • Chafee - Partially Supports
    • Whitehouse - Strongly Against
  • Bush Tax Cuts
    • Chafee - Strongly against
    • Whitehouse - Strongly against
  • Vouchers
    • Chafee - rated 55% by NEA, representing a mixed record
    • Whitehouse - Strongly against
  • Federal Spending on Health Care
    • Chafee - Strongly supports
    • Whitehouse - Strongly supports
  • PATRIOT Act
    • Chafee - supports
    • Whitehouse - against
  • Free Trade
    • Chafee - supports
    • Whitehouse - against

[1][12]

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[13] Tossup November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] Lean D (flip) November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[15] Lean D (flip) November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[16] Tossup November 6, 2006

Polling

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Source Date Sheldon
Whitehouse (D) 		Lincoln
Chafee (R)
Brown University[17] September 13, 2005 25% 38%
Brown University[18] February 8, 2006 34% 40%
Rasmussen[19] February 11, 2006 38% 50%
Rhode Island College[20] April 2006 32% 51%
Rasmussen[21] May 4, 2006 41% 44%
Rasmussen[22] June 5, 2006 42% 44%
Rhode Island College[23] June 21, 2006 40% 43%
Brown University[24] June 26, 2006 38% 37%
Rasmussen[25] July 18, 2006 46% 41%
Rasmussen[26] August 9, 2006 44% 38%
Fleming & Associates[27] August 24, 2006 42% 43%
Rasmussen[28] September 3, 2006 44% 42%
Rasmussen[29] September 17, 2006 51% 43%
Brown University[30] September 16–18, 2006 40% 39%
American Research Group[31] September 19, 2006 45% 40%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC[32] October 2, 2006 42% 41%
Reuters/Zogby[33] October 5, 2006 45% 41%
USA Today/Gallup[34] October 6, 2006 50% 39%
Rasmussen[35] October 10, 2006 49% 39%
Rhode Island College[36] October 10, 2006 40% 37%
Fleming & Associates[37] October 19, 2006 46% 42%
Rasmussen[38] October 19, 2006 50% 42%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC[39] October 24, 2006 48% 43%
Rhode Island College[40] October 27, 2006 51% 43%
Reuters/Zogby[41] November 2, 2006 53% 39%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC[42] November 5, 2006 45% 46%
USA Today/Gallup[43] November 5, 2006 48% 45%
Hypothetical polling

with Steve Laffey

Source Date Sheldon
Whitehouse (D) 		Steve
Laffey (R)
Brown University[44] September 13, 2005 35% 25%
Brown University[45] February 8, 2006 44% 29%
Brown University[46] June 26, 2006 55% 25%

Results

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Whitehouse defeated Chafee in his bid for a second full term. Whitehouse lost every county except Providence County, home to the majority of the state's residents. His victory here was enough to win the state.

As a testament to how Democratic Rhode Island has become, this marks the last Senate election where a Republican received more than 40% of the vote or won a county. Chafee himself would later leave the Republican Party and serve as Governor of Rhode Island as an Independent. He later joined the Democratic Party, running for president in 2016.

United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2006[47]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Sheldon Whitehouse 206,043 53.52% +12.37%
Republican Lincoln Chafee (incumbent) 178,950 46.48% −10.40%
Total votes 384,993 100.00% N/A
Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Democrat Whitehouse Beats Incumbent GOP Sen. Chafee in Rhode Island - Voting | Vote". FOXNews.com. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  2. ^ "The American Spectator : A Laffey Matter". Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  3. ^ "Rhode Island Board of Elections: Elections & Voting". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  4. ^ "NRSC" (PDF). Gopsenators.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  5. ^ Rhode Island College Archived May 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ American Research Group
  7. ^ Club for Growth/National Research Inc.
  8. ^ Rhode Island College
  9. ^ Rhode Island College
  10. ^ RNSC/Public Opinion Strategies
  11. ^ "Rhode Island Board of Elections: Elections & Voting". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  12. ^ "Lincoln Chafee on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  17. ^ Brown University
  18. ^ Brown University
  19. ^ Rasmussen
  20. ^ Rhode Island College Archived May 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Rasmussen
  22. ^ Rasmussen
  23. ^ Rhode Island College Archived July 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Brown University
  25. ^ Rasmussen
  26. ^ Rasmussen
  27. ^ Fleming & Associates
  28. ^ Rasmussen
  29. ^ Rasmussen
  30. ^ Brown University
  31. ^ American Research Group
  32. ^ Mason-Dixon/MSNBC
  33. ^ Reuters/Zogby
  34. ^ USA Today/Gallup
  35. ^ Rasmussen
  36. ^ Rhode Island College Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ Fleming & Associates
  38. ^ Rasmussen
  39. ^ Mason-Dixon/MSNBC
  40. ^ Rhode Island College Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Reuters/Zogby
  42. ^ Mason-Dixon/MSNBC
  43. ^ USA Today/Gallup
  44. ^ Brown University
  45. ^ Brown University
  46. ^ Brown University
  47. ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
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