2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington

Elections were held in Washington state in 2006 for seats in the United States House of Representatives. Of the nine congressional districts, six were won by Democrats and three by Republicans, with the Democrats taking 64% of the vote.

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington

← 2004 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2008 →

All 9 Washington seats to the United States House of Representatives
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election 6 3
Seats won 6 3
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 1,320,238 721,862
Percentage 64.27% 35.14%
Swing Increase 5.34% Decrease 4.99%

Overview

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United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2006[1]
Party Votes Percentage Seats +/–
Democratic 1,320,238 64.27% 6
Republican 721,862 35.14% 3
Independents 11,956 0.58% 0
Totals 2,054,056 100.00% 2

District 1

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee easily dispatched Republican challenger Larry Ishmael to win a sixth term.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 1st congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jay Inslee (inc.) 163,832 67.72
Republican Larry Ishmael 78,105 32.28
Total votes 241,937 100.00
Democratic hold

District 2

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Democratic incumbent Congressman Rick Larsen defeated his Republican opponent, U.S. Navy veteran Doug Roulstone by a solid margin.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 2nd congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Rick Larsen (inc.) 157,064 64.16
Republican Doug Roulstone 87,730 35.84
Total votes 244,794 100.00
Democratic hold

District 3

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In a slight improvement over his 2004 performance, incumbent Democratic Congressman Brian Baird easily won a fifth term over Republican challenger Michael Messmore.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 3rd congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brian Baird (inc.) 147,065 63.12
Republican Michael Messore 85,915 36.88
Total votes 232,980 100.00
Democratic hold

District 4

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In his bid for a seventh term, Republican incumbent Congressman Doc Hastings beat back a spirited challenge from Democratic nominee Richard Wright. Though Hastings eventually beat Wright by a fairly solid margin, it was not the kind of landslide that Hastings usually experienced in this strongly conservative district based in Central Washington.

Washington's 4th congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Doc Hastings (inc.) 115,246 59.93
Democratic Richard Wright 77,054 40.07
Total votes 192,300 100.00
Republican hold

District 5

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Like neighboring Congressman Hastings, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers faced a surprisingly strong challenge from Democratic nominee Peter J. Goldmark in her conservative, Eastern Washington district. Though Rodgers ultimately edged Goldmark out by a comfortable margin, the race got close enough for CQ Politics to change its rating on the race to Republican Favored from Safe Republican.[3]

Washington's 5th congressional district election, 2006)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers (inc.) 134,967 56.40
Democratic Peter J. Goldmark 104,357 43.60
Total votes 239,324 100.00
Republican hold

District 6

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Long-serving Democratic incumbent Norm Dicks, a high-ranking member on the Appropriations Committee did not face a credible challenge to his bid for a sixteenth term from conservative activist Doug Cloud in this liberal, Kitsap Peninsula-based district.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 6th congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Norm Dicks (inc.) 158,202 70.60
Republican Doug Cloud 65,883 29.40
Total votes 224,085 100.00
Democratic hold

District 7

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In his bid for a ninth term, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott easily beat out Republican nominee Steve Beren and independent Linnea S. Noreen in this very liberal, Seattle-based district.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 7th congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jim McDermott (inc.) 195,462 79.41
Republican Steve Beren 38,715 15.73
Independent Linnea S. Noreen 11,956 4.86
Total votes 246,133 100.00
Democratic hold

District 8

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In 2004, then-King County Sheriff Dave Reichert won his first campaign for the United States House of Representatives by a five-point margin. 2006 proved to be just as tough of a year for Reichert. Facing former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner for the first time, Reichert faced a grueling battle for re-election. Polls taken in October showed the two candidates to be about even[4] and the two major newspapers in the area—the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Times—split their endorsements: The Post-Intelligencer endorsed Burner[5] while the Times supported Reichert.[6] Ultimately, though, a few weeks after election day, it became evident that Reichert had beaten out Burner and had won a second term.

Endorsements

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Organizations

Individuals

Washington's 8th congressional district election, 2006)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Reichert (inc.) 129,362 51.46
Democratic Darcy Burner 122,021 48.54
Total votes 251,383 100.00
Republican hold

District 9

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Incumbent Democratic Congressman Adam Smith easily beat out Republican candidate Steven Cofchin for a sixth term in this Western Washington district based in the Puget Sound.

Endorsements

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Organizations
Washington's 9th congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Adam Smith (inc.) 119,038 65.72
Republican Steven C. Cofchin 62,082 34.28
Total votes 181,120 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Endorsements 2006". www.sierraclub.org. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  3. ^ "Cathy McMorris Rodgers : Rollcall Members of Congress". Archived from the original on March 5, 2011.
  4. ^ "Welcome to nginx". Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  5. ^ "P-I Endorsement: Burner is better". October 22, 2006.
  6. ^ "The Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: Reichert in the 8th". Archived from the original on November 5, 2006.
  7. ^ "Darcy Burner (WA-8) | WesPAC". November 4, 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2023.