The 2006 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Olympia Snowe won re-election to a third term. , this was the last time Republicans won the Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in Maine. Along with

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, this was one of the three Republican-held Senate seats up for election in a state that

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

won in the 2004 presidential election.

General election

Candidates

* Jean Hay Bright, activist (Democratic) * Bill Slavick, activist (Independent) * Olympia Snowe, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1995 (Republican)

Campaign

Snowe, who had been elected to both of her previous terms by approximately 2 to 1 margins, had never lost an election. Her success is accredited to her centrist Republican ideology, which resulted in high approval ratings. Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Jean Hay Bright, had never been elected to political office. Democrats' best hope for taking the seat was that Snowe would retire rather than run in 2006, but there was never any indication that Snowe seriously considered not running for re-election. The filing deadline for major party candidates was March 15, 2006. The primary was held June 13, 2006. Olympia Snowe was unopposed for the Republican nomination; Jean Hay Bright narrowly won the Democratic nod with 50.7% of the vote against Eric Mehnert. Hay Bright announced her candidacy in May 2005. Hay Bright was previously an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination to the House in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and the Senate in 1996. The race had been called b
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for the Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe 23 minutes after the polls had closed. Snowe won re-election by a greater margin than any U.S. Senator that cycle except Indiana's Richard Lugar, who faced only a Libertarian opponent. Hay Bright would only carry the heavily Democratic town of Grand Isle on the Canadian border, while Slavick would win the towns of North Yarmouth, Glenburn, and Kingman with over 80% of the vote according to official tallies.

Polling

Predictions

Results

Snowe won in all of Maine's counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each.

References

External links

Snowe's campaign website

Hay Bright's campaign website

Mehnert's campaign website

Slavick's campaign website
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Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

2006 2006 Maine elections