United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2006
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The 2006 United States House of Representatives Elections in Florida took place on November 7, 2006. Elections were held in Florida's 1st through 25th
congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
s. Florida is known to be a moderate-to-conservative state, with more liberals residing in South Florida, and moderates and conservatives dominating both the northern and central regions of Florida, as well as a strong Republican base in Cuban-American portions of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. A former
Florida Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...
made famous in the 2000 presidential election challenged incumbent Senator
Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
, and ended up losing to Nelson. Democrats set their sights on two districts in the
Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
and Tampa area (the open seats of both Harris and the retiring Mike Bilirakis, respectively), and also on a South Florida district held by one of the Sunshine State's longest-serving congressmen. The primary was held on September 5, 2006. The popularity of outgoing
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...
aided their gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Charlie Crist and helped Republicans win downballot, including Crist's newly elected successor at the Attorney General position, former Rep.
Bill McCollum Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2001, representing Florida's 5th congressional district, which was la ...
. The following Representatives went unopposed in the 2006 election and thus their election is not reported below: *
Allen Boyd Frederick Allen Boyd Jr. (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician and the former United States Representative for from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for a lobbying firm, the Twenty-First Century G ...
( D- FL-02) *
Corrine Brown Corrine Brown (born November 11, 1946) is an American former politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017 and a convicted felon. She is a member of the Democratic Party. After a court-ord ...
( D- FL-03) *
Robert Wexler Robert Ira Wexler (born January 2, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer from Florida. He is the president of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. Wexler was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Repres ...
( D- FL-19) *
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Deborah Wasserman Schultz (née Wasserman; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from , first elected to Congress in 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former chair of the Democrat ...
( D- FL-20) *
Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician and judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President Jimmy Cart ...
( D- FL-23)


Overview


District 1

Three-term incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Miller had an easy time seeking re-election in this staunchly conservative district based in the Florida Panhandle. Miller, who was initially elected in a special election in 2001 to replace
Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of ''Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarbo ...
, took advantage of this district's large military population based around the
Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
with his membership on the
House Veterans Affairs Committee The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring an ...
and the naturally conservative tendencies of western Florida to easily defeat Democratic challenger Joe Roberts.


District 4

Incumbent Republican Congressman
Ander Crenshaw Alexander Mann "Ander" Crenshaw (born September 1, 1944) is an American banker, attorney, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Crenshaw retired from Congress when ...
represented this
North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...
and
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
-based district since 2001.Crenshaw was re-elected with nearly 70% of the vote.


District 5

Incumbent Republican Congressman
Ginny Brown-Waite Virginia Brown-Waite (born Virginia Frances Kniffen; October 5, 1943) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and a founder of Maggie's List. The district stretched along sev ...
faced challenger John Russell. She was re-elected to a third term with nearly 60% of the vote.


District 6

Encompassing
North Central Florida North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the North Florida counties of Alachua, Marion, Putnam, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafa ...
, this conservative district is represented by nine-term incumbent Republican Congressman
Cliff Stearns Clifford Bundy Stearns Sr. (born April 16, 1941) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. On August 14, 2012, Stearns lost to veterinarian Ted Yoho ...
. Stearns, seeking a tenth term, faced off against Democratic candidate David Bruderly. Though Stearns defeated Bruderly by a wide margin, it was not the margin of victory that Stearns is used to in this gerrymandered district.


District 7

Incumbent Republican Congressman
John Mica John Luigi Mica (born January 27, 1943) is an American businessman, consultant and Republican politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017. He was defeated by Democrat Stephanie Murphy in the November 8, 201 ...
, initially elected in 1992, sought his eighth term in this conservative district that stretches along the coast of Florida from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach and peeks into the
Orlando Metropolitan Area The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...
. Mica defeated Democratic candidate John Chagnon in a landslide.


District 8

Republican Congressman
Ric Keller Richard Anthony "Ric" Keller (born September 5, 1964) is an American politician, author, and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2009. His district included much of the Central Flori ...
, seeking a fourth term in this moderately conservative,
Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...
-based district, faced off against businessman Charlie Stuart, a moderate Democrat. Though Keller held onto his seat in the midst of a Democratic wave that was sweeping the country, he won by only a few points.


Democratic primary

* Charlie Stuart, businessman *
Alan Grayson Alan Mark Grayson (born March 13, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated for reelection in 2010 by Republican Daniel ...
, war contractor attorney * Homer Hartage,
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
Commissioner


Republican primary

*
Ric Keller Richard Anthony "Ric" Keller (born September 5, 1964) is an American politician, author, and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2009. His district included much of the Central Flori ...
, incumbent U.S. Congressman *Elizabeth Doran, businesswoman


General election

Incumbent Republican Congressman
Ric Keller Richard Anthony "Ric" Keller (born September 5, 1964) is an American politician, author, and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2009. His district included much of the Central Flori ...
, best known for his Cheeseburger Bill, which prevented customers from suing fast food chains for health problems, decided to seek a fourth term in Congress. Charlie Stuart, a marketing consultant, an
Orange County, Florida Orange County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,429,908, making it Florida's fifth most populous county. The county seat is Orlando. Orange County is the central county ...
native and member of a prominent
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
family, was nominated by the Democratic Party to face Keller. Stuart was touted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as a top longshot candidate and received the backing of local figures such as Congressman
Allen Boyd Frederick Allen Boyd Jr. (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician and the former United States Representative for from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for a lobbying firm, the Twenty-First Century G ...
, ex-Orlando mayors
Glenda Hood Glenda Evans Hood (born March 10, 1950) is an American politician, who was Secretary of State of Florida, from 2003 to 2005, and the first woman to serve as Mayor of Orlando (1992–2003). A Republican, Hood served as a district commissioner ...
and Bill Frederick and present Orlando mayor
Buddy Dyer John Hugh "Buddy" Dyer (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who is the 32nd Mayor of Orlando. First elected in 2003, he is Orlando's longest-serving mayor. He is a member of the Florida Democratic Party. Previously he represented Orl ...
, as well as national ones such as former Virginia Governor Mark Warner.


District 9

After serving twelve terms in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, Republican incumbent Congressman
Michael Bilirakis Michael Bilirakis (born July 16, 1930) is an American politician and lawyer from Florida. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983 until 2007, representing the 9th District of Florida. Early life The ...
declined to run for re-election. His son,
Gus Bilirakis Gus Michael Bilirakis ( ; born February 8, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, where he succeeded his father Michael ...
, a member of the Florida House of Representatives emerged as the Republican nominee and squared off against
Phyllis Busansky Phyllis Busansky (March 3, 1937 – June 23, 2009) was the Democratic Commissioner of Hillsborough County, Florida from 1989 to 1997. In 1995 she was named a "Public Official of the Year" by ''Governing'' magazine, She ran in Florida's 9th c ...
, the Democratic nominee and a former Hillsborough County Commissioner. The district has a tilt towards electing Republicans, so Busansky's campaign was not given much of a chance at first. As the campaign progressed, however, it received national attention from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Though Bilirakis defeated Busansky by a ten-point margin, Busansky's performance was a large improvement over past years and outperformed her expected performance in the polls.


District 10

In this district, which is the only congressional district in the state to lie exclusively in one county, has been represented by incumbent Republican Congressman
Bill Young Charles William Young (December 16, 1930 – October 18, 2013) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 2013. A Republican from Florida, Young served as chairman of the H ...
for several decades. A former Chairman of the
House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
, Young has been overwhelmingly re-elected year after year. In 2006, despite the moderate nature of his district and the acidic environment for Republicans nationwide, Congressman Young swamped Democratic nominee Samm Simpson.


District 11

Rather than seek a sixth term in this liberal district based in Tampa, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Davis opted to run for Governor, creating an open seat. Hillsborough County Commissioner
Kathy Castor Katherine Anne Castor (born August 20, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer currently representing in the United States House of Representatives, serving since 2007. The district, numbered as the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, is based ...
, the daughter of renowned Florida politician
Betty Castor Elizabeth Castor (née Bowe; born May 11, 1941) is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner, and she subsequently served as the President of the University of So ...
, ran for the seat and won the Democratic nomination, defeating
Florida State Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...
Minority Leader Les Miller. She faced Republican candidate Eddie Adams, an architect, in the general election, which she won by a convincing margin.


District 12

Incumbent Republican Congressman Adam Putnam, a member of the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
leadership in the House, sought and easily won a fourth term in Congress, defeating independent candidates Joe Viscusi and Ed Bowlin.


District 13

Two-term incumbent Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris opted to run for Senate rather than seek a third term, creating an open seat. The 13th district, based in
Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...
, is fairly conservative, but a competitive race emerged between the Republican nominee, car dealership owner
Vern Buchanan Vernon Gale Buchanan ( ; born May 8, 1951) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 16th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, ...
, and the Democratic nominee, banking executive Christine Jennings. Though Buchanan appeared to be victorious on election day by a 350-vote margin, Jennings requested a recount. Though the recount did not change the outcome of the race, Jennings filed additional complaints due to the fact that 13% of Sarasota County residents did not vote in the Congressional election, an unusually high number and the fact that the touch-screen machines did not provide a paper trail."Another election mess in Florida"
''The Economist'', December 9, 2006
Believing the matter to be unsettled, Jennings sued to challenge the results of the election in court, noting the "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." A Florida circuit judge rejected her lawsuit in December 2006, ruling that her allegations of lost votes in Sarasota County were "conjecture." Jennings met further failure in June 2007, when a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong. Though Jennings fought the results further by appealing directly to the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, this action, too, caused her to walk away empty-handed. After a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election, the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida's 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In February 2008, the committee and the House accepted the findings of the GAO that no machine error affected the outcome of the election, going a step further to pass HR 989, which affirmed the findings of the committee, accepted the results of the 2006 race and formally dismissed Jennings' challenge of the election's results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on her 2008 rematch against Buchanan.


District 14

After winning his first Congressional election in 2004 to replace
Porter Goss Porter Johnston Goss (; born November 26, 1938) is an American politician and government official who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 until 2004, when he became the last Director of Central Intellig ...
, incumbent Republican Congressman
Connie Mack IV Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy (born August 12, 1967), popularly known as Connie Mack IV, is an American politician and lobbyist. He is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2013. A Republican, he ran for the U.S. Senate in ...
sought a second term in 2006. Mack's district, based in the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
region of Florida, is solidly conservative and overwhelmingly gave the Congressman a second term over Democratic candidate Robert Neeld.


District 15

In this
Space Coast The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is one of several "themed" coasts around Florida. All orbital launches from American soil carrying NASA ast ...
-based district, incumbent Republican Congressman
Dave Weldon David Joseph Weldon (born August 31, 1953) is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in Flori ...
sought election to a seventh term in Congress. This district, though undoubtedly conservative, gave Weldon a smaller margin of victory over Democratic nominee Robert Bowman in 2006 than in previous years, likely due to the anti-Republican sentiment nationwide.


District 16

Incumbent Republican Congressman
Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a 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 Republic ...
was considered to be a shoo-in for re-election until the House page scandal involving Foley became public knowledge. The Congressman resigned on September 29, 2006, thus cancelling his re-election bid. The
Republican Party of Florida The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Florida. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling the majority of Florida's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, supermajor ...
selected
Florida State Representative The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
Joe Negron Joseph Negron, Jr. (born October 9, 1961) is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2009 to 2018, representing parts of the Treasure Coast. In his last two years in office, he served as Senate Presi ...
to replace Foley, though Foley's name remained on the ballot. Though Negron launched a successful campaign to urge voters to "Punch Foley for Joe!", indicating that voters should "punch" Foley's name on the ballot to vote for Negron, he was ultimately unsuccessful on election day and fell to Democratic nominee and businessman Tim Mahoney. One poll taken by Hamilton Beattie on September 12, 2006, had Foley leading Tim Mahoney in a matchup by 48% for Foley to 35% for Mahoney . According to the state of Florida, 42% of the voters in this district are registered Republicans, and 36% are registered Democrats.
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
won this district with 52% of the vote in the 2000 presidential election, and with 54% of the vote in the 2004 presidential election. Mahoney has sharply criticized the Bush administration for overspending, general mismanagement, and its policies in Iraq. In August, General
Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...
endorsed the candidacy of Mahoney for Congress. On September 28, 2006,
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
reported that Republican incumbent
Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a 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 Republic ...
had sent email messages, from his personal AOL account, to a then-16-year-old former Congressional page, asking the page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things that were overtly
sexual Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female. Sex or SEX may also refer to: Biology and behaviour *Animal sexual behaviour **Copulation (zoology) **Human sexual activity **Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse ** ...
in nature. Mahoney has called for a full investigation of Foley's actions. The next day Foley submitted a letter of resignation from Congress on September 29, 2006 in the wake of news reports about the communications. Republicans' hold on Mark Foley's seat went "from safe to shaky overnight." On October 2, 2006, the Florida Republican Party Executive Board selected state representative
Joe Negron Joseph Negron, Jr. (born October 9, 1961) is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2009 to 2018, representing parts of the Treasure Coast. In his last two years in office, he served as Senate Presi ...
as Mahoney's new opponent. However, Negron's name did not appear on the ballot so he only received votes cast for Foley, whose name remained on the ballot by law. On election day Mahoney narrowly defeated Negron by 1.8 percentage points. While Negron carried most of the more conservative areas of the district near
Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
, Mahoney carried the two largest counties in the district, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, by a combined margin of over 10,000 votes — far more than the actual margin of victory. He was the first Democrat to represent the district since its creation in 1973 (it was the 10th District until 1983 and the 12th District until 1993).


District 17

This majority African-American district based in southern
Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
and eastern Miami-Dade County has a very strong Democratic tilt and has been represented by Congressman
Kendrick Meek Kendrick Brett Meek (born September 6, 1966) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2011. After serving in both houses of the Florida Legislature, Meek was elected to Congress in the 2002 election to s ...
since his initial election in 2002 and was previously represented by Meek's mother,
Carrie Meek Carrie Mae Pittman Meek (April 29, 1926November 28, 2021) was the United States Representative for Florida's 17th congressional district, from 1993 to 2003. Having been elected in the September 1992 primary with no general election opponent, she ...
, for ten years. Meek was overwhelmingly elected to a third term with no Republican or independent challenger.


District 18

Incumbent Republican Congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She ...
, a respected member of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...
, represents a marginally conservative district that encompasses much of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, the southern suburbs of Miami, and the entire Florida Keys. Seeking a tenth term in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen easily defeated Democratic nominee Dave Patlak in the general election.


District 21

Incumbent Republican Congressman
Lincoln Diaz-Balart Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...
decided to run for an eighth term in Congress in this district composed of the western suburbs of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. Conservative due to the large presence of
Cuban-Americans Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
here, this district is a Hispanic-American majority district and has regularly sent Congressman Diaz-Balart back to Washington with solid victories. 2006 proved to be no different, and Diaz-Balart defeated Frank Gonzalez, though by a thinner margin than is usually achieved in this district.


District 22

This district, which stretches from northern
Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
to northern
Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...
, marginally leads towards the Democratic side, but incumbent Republican Congressman
Clay Shaw Clay LaVergne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 15, 1974) was an American businessman and military officer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Shaw is best known for being the only person brought to trial for involvement in the assassination of John F. ...
's pragmatic and moderate profile in Congress enabled him to continually be re-elected. This year, however, Shaw faced difficulty in his bid for a fourteenth term. Florida State Senator Ron Klein, previously the Democratic leader in the Senate, ultimately defeated Shaw in the general election by a thin three-point margin.


District 24

Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Feeney, initially elected in 2002 and re-elected unopposed in 2004 in this hand-crafted, gerrymandered district, hardly faced a challenge from Democratic candidate Clint Curtis. Feeney, however, was marred by allegations of corruption brought about by Curtis, a computer programmer who claimed that Feeney asked Curtis to create a software to "steal" votes using touch-screen voting machines. Feeney treated Curtis like a gadfly, sending out mailers featuring Curtis with a tin-foil hat and refusing to debate him. Polling, however, indicated that the race was tight, with a Zogby poll showing Feeney at a 45% level of support and Curtis attaining 43%. Ultimately, though, on election day, Feeney swamped Curtis, winning all four counties in the district. The surprisingly close race, however, indicated that Feeney could be brought down with a serious challenger.


District 25

This district, with a Hispanic-American majority and based in South Florida, has the tendency to support Republican candidates. Incumbent Republican Congressman
Mario Diaz-Balart is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the '' Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his c ...
has represented the district since its creation in 2003 and had not faced a close call so far in his career. In 2006, however, though Diaz-Balart defeated Democratic opponent Michael Calderin by a solid margin, it was a thinner margin than usual.


References


See also

* 2006 Florida state elections *
2006 United States House of Representatives elections The 2006 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 2006, to elect members to the United States House of Representatives. It took place in the middle of President George W. Bush's second term in office. All 435 sea ...
{{2006 United States elections 2006
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...