2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

←  2004 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2008  →
All 3 Nevada seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 2 seats, 53.16% 1 seats, 42.19% Seats before 2 1 Seats won 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 260,317 287,879 Percentage 45.29% 50.08% Swing 7.9% 7.9%
District results County results Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70% Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

Nevada's three congressional districts

The Nevada congressional elections of 2006 took place on November 7, 2006, when each of the state's three congressional districts elected a representative to the United States House of Representatives. Nevada was considered a battleground state due to the close victory margins. The primaries were held on August 15.

Nevada was one of seven states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2006, the other states being Indiana, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Overview

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	3	287,879	50.08	1		33.33
	Republican	3	260,317	45.29	2		66.67
	Independent American	3	13,107	2.28	0		0.0
	Libertarian	2	8,000	1.39	0		0.0
	Independent	1	5,524	0.96	0		0.0
Total		12	574,827	100.0	3		100.0

Popular vote

Democratic			50.08%
Republican			45.29%
Independent American			2.28%
Libertarian			1.39%
Other			0.96%

House seats

Republican			66.67%
Democratic			33.33%

By district

Results of the 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada by district: ^[1]

District	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	85,025	64.84%	40,917	31.20%	5,182	3.95%	131,124	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 2	104,593	44.94%	117,168	50.35%	10,963	4.71%	232,724	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	98,261	46.57%	102,232	48.46%	10,486	4.97%	210,979	100.0%	Republican Hold
Total	287,879	50.08%	260,317	45.29%	26,631	4.63%	574,827	100.0%

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Shelley Berkley, who had represented the district since 1999, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 66.0% of the vote in 2004.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelley Berkley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Asimo Sondra "Silver" Lawlor

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley (incumbent)	29,655	90.1
	Democratic	Asimo Sondra "Silver" Lawlor	3,267	9.9
Total votes			32,922	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kenneth Wegner, Gulf War veteran and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004

Eliminated in primary

• Russ Mickelson, former Air Force pilot, retired Defense Department employee and nominee for this seat in 2004
• Michael Monroe, handyman ^[2]

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth Wegner	10,615	51.2
	Republican	Russ Mickelson	7,907	38.2
	Republican	Michael Monroe	2,193	10.6
Total votes			20,715	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Duensing, radio talk show host and nominee for this seat in 2004

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Darnell Roberts

Reform primary

Candidates

Withdrawn

• Bruce Westcott, businessman and Republican candidate for Governor in 1998 & 2002

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg [4]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics [6]	Safe D	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics [7]	Safe D	November 7, 2006

Results

Nevada's 1st congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley (incumbent)	85,025	64.8
	Republican	Kenneth Wegner	40,917	31.2
	Libertarian	Jim Duensing	2,843	2.2
	Independent American	Darnell Roberts	2,339	1.8
Majority			44,108	33.6
Total votes			131,124	100.0
	Democratic hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Shelley Berkley (D)	$1,742,767	$1,674,409	$673,509
Kenneth Wegner (R)	$96,582	$96,534	$48
Jim Duensing (L)	Unreported
Darnell Roberts (IN)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Shelley Berkley (D)	$301	$0
Kenneth Wegner (R)	$0	$0
Jim Duensing (L)	$0	$0
Darnell Roberts (IN)	$0	$0

District 2

2006 Nevada's 2nd congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Dean Heller Jill Derby Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 117,119 104,593 Percentage 50.4% 44.9%

County results Heller:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Derby:     40–50%

U.S. Representative before election Jim Gibbons Republican Elected U.S. Representative Dean Heller Republican

The district covers all of Nevada outside of Clark County as well as some parts of Clark County. Incumbent Republican Jim Gibbons, who had represented the district since 1997, opted to run for governor rather than re-election, having considered a run for Senate in 2004. ^[8] He was re–elected with 67.2% of the vote in 2002.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dean Heller, Secretary of State of Nevada

Eliminated in primary

• Sharron Angle, state representative
• Dawn Gibbons, former state representative and wife of Jim Gibbons ^[9]
• Richard Gilster, pastor ^[10]
• Glenn Thomas, retired aerospace engineer

Declined

• Kathy Augustine, Nevada State Controller
• Jim Gibbons, incumbent U.S. Representative and nominee for Governor in 1994 (running for Governor) ^{[11] [12]}
• Brian Krolicki, Nevada State Treasurer (running for Lieutenant Governor) ^[9]

Campaign

There was a "fiercely contested and often bruising" ^[13] three-way race (with two minor candidates raising the total to five candidates). The Club for Growth poured in over $1 million backing Angle, and ran ads attacking both Heller and Gibbons as being "liberal" and in favor of tax increases.

Endorsements

Sharron Angle

U.S. Representatives

• Marilyn Musgrave, U.S. representative from Colorado's 4th congressional district (2003–present)
• Mike Pence, U.S. representative from Indiana's 6th congressional district (2001–present)
• Jim Ryun, U.S. representative from Kansas's 2nd congressional district (1996–present)
• Pat Toomey, U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district (1999–2005)

Organizations

• Club for Growth
• National Right to Life Committee
• NRA Political Victory Fund
• Susan B. Anthony List

Dawn Gibbons

State legislators

• Maurice Washington, state senator

Dean Heller

State officials

• Kenny Guinn, Governor of Nevada

U.S. Representatives

• Jon Porter, U.S. representative from Nevada's 3rd congressional district (2003–present)

State legislators

• Mark Amodei, state senator

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Sharron Angle	Kathy Augustine	Dawn Gibbons	Richard Gilster	Dean Heller	Glenn Thomas	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [14]	August 8–11, 2006	400 (LV)	±5.0%	32%	–	19%	1%	32%	1%	16%
Neighborhood Research (R)	August 8–10, 2006	?	±5.6%	33%	–	21%	–	19%	–	27%
Global Strategy Group (Nevada Credit Union League) [15]	August 1–3, 2006	?	±5.0%	26%	–	23%	–	30%	–	21%
Neighborhood Research (R)	July 26–27, 2006	?	±5.6%	19%	–	22%	–	24%	–	35%
Hart Research (D)	July 20–22, 2006	?	±4.0%	19%	–	19%	–	35%	–	27%
Research 2000 [16]	May 12–14, 2006	400 (V)	±5.0%	15%	–	32%	–	27%	–	26%
Hart Research (D)	March 12–13, 2006	?	±4.7%	12%	–	34%	–	25%	–	29%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [17]	October 21–24, 2005	?	±7.0%	14%	–	23%	–	37%	–	26%
Strategic Solutions [18]	April 27, 2005	325 (V)	±5.6%	8%	3%	16%	–	28%	–	43%

Results

Republican primary results ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dean Heller	24,770	35.9
	Republican	Sharron Angle	24,349	35.3
	Republican	Dawn Gibbons	17,317	25.1
	Republican	Glenn Thomas	1,835	2.7
	Republican	Richard Gilster	721	1.0
Total votes			68,992	100.0

Refusal to concede

After the primary, Angle refused to concede, complaining of voting irregularities that disenfranchised many voters in her popular home base of Washoe County, which includes Reno and is by far the district's most populous and vote-rich jurisdiction. Rather than calling for a recount — the typical route for candidates who challenge close election outcomes — Angle demanded to have the entire primary invalidated and held again. CQPolitics.com noted "Some have charged Angle’s decision to call for a special primary was based on economics: Had she demanded a recount, Angle would have been responsible for the cost of the procedure unless the result vindicated her request for it. That would not be the case if the courts were to order a primary do-over." ^[20]

Exacerbating the disunity of the Nevada GOP, Nevada's Republican Party chairman, Paul Adams, announced his support for Angle's court challenge. ^[21]

At a September 1 state court hearing, District Judge Bill Maddox rejected Angle's request on grounds that the state court lacks jurisdiction in congressional elections. According to Maddox, only the U.S. House of Representatives has standing to call for a new election. ^[22] At that point, Angle conceded the race.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jill Derby, Regent for the University and Community College System of Nevada

Declined

• Frankie Sue Del Papa, former Attorney General of Nevada, former Secretary of State of Nevada, candidate for Governor in 1998 and U.S. Senate in 2000 ^[9]

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Scott Babb ^[23]

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• James Krochus

Other Candidates

• Daniel Rosen (Independent)

General election

Campaign

The bruising GOP primary, as compared to the Democratic situation, was reflected in the cash reserves reported by each candidate in their pre-primary filings with the Federal Election Commission. Derby had $444,000 on hand as of July 26, out of $748,000 raised. Heller had 260,000 left — and that was with 20 days left to go before the actual primary — out of $904,000 in total receipts, which included $108,000 in funds from his personal accounts. ^[22]

In late August, CQPolitics.com analyzed the race: "Although the 2nd District generally leans Republican, Derby's competitive position in the general election was already strengthened by the fact that she was unopposed in the Aug. 15 Democratic primary while the Republicans staged a bruising battle among three well-known candidates." ^[20]

Endorsements

Jill Derby (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[24]

Polling

The Las Vegas Sun, quoting University of Nevada-Reno political scientist Eric Herzik, noted that the intra-fighting has given the Democratic Party a chance in this otherwise Republican leaning district. "Jill Derby was already doing everything right, and then she gets this gift," he said. "How do you turn a safe district into a competitive one? Fight among yourselves. Republicans here have won because they've stayed united and they continue to turn out. Now you've got partisan infighting, and Adams' leadership is aiding and abetting that - in an already bad year for Republicans." ^[21]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Dean Heller (R)	Jill Derby (D)	James Krochus (IA)	Daniel Rosen (I)	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [25]	October 26–30, 2006	400 (RV)	±5.0%	47%	39%	1%	1%	12%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV-DT) [26]	October 23–25, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	48%	40%	–	–	12%
Mellman Group (Derby–D) [27]	October 14–16, 2006	400 (V)	±4.9%	40%	40%	5%		15%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [28]	September 19–21, 2006	400 (RV)	±5.0%	45%	42%	1%	–	12%
Mellman Group (Derby–D)	September 7–9, 2006	?	±5.0%	44%	35%	5%		15%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV-DT) [29]	September 5–7, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	45%	37%	–	–	18%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV-DT)	May 12–15, 2006	400 (LV)	±5.0%	39%	31%	–	–	30%
Hart Research (D) [30]	March 12–13, 2006	429 (RV)	±4.7%	43%	25%	–	–	32%

Hypothetical polling

With Angle

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sharron Angle (R)	Jill Derby (D)	Undecided
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV-DT)	May 12–15, 2006	400 (LV)	±5.0%	31%	30%	39%
Hart Research (D)	March 12–13, 2006	429 (RV)	±4.7%	32%	28%	40%

With Gibbons

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dawn Gibbons (R)	Jill Derby (D)	Undecided
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/KRNV-DT)	May 12–15, 2006	400 (LV)	±5.0%	35%	30%	35%
Hart Research (D)	March 12–13, 2006	429 (RV)	±4.7%	37%	33%	30%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Lean R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg [4]	Likely R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Lean R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics [6]	Lean R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics [7]	Lean R	November 7, 2006

Results

Nevada's 2nd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dean Heller	117,168	50.3
	Democratic	Jill Derby	104,593	44.9
	Independent	Daniel Rosen	5,524	2.4
	Independent American	James Krochus	5,439	2.3
Majority			12,575	5.4
Total votes			232,724	100.0
	Republican hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Dean Heller (R)	$1,634,942	$1,609,281	$25,658
Jill Derby (D)	$1,610,549	$1,594,051	$16,496
Daniel Rosen (I)	Unreported
James Krochus (IA)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Dean Heller (R)	$207,355	$722,582
Jill Derby (D)	$232,280	$481,215
Daniel Rosen (I)	$0	$0
James Krochus (IA)	$0	$0

District 3

Incumbent Republican Jon Porter, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54.5% of the vote in 2004.

Republican primary

Porter was a member of the moderate/liberal Republican Main Street Partnership and was a supporter of stem-cell research.

Candidates

Nominee

• Jon Porter, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tessa Hafen, former press secretary for US Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid

Eliminated in primary

• Mark Budetich Jr, Merchant Marine electrician and candidate for this seat in 2002 and 2004
• Barry Michaels, chiropractor
• Anna Nevenic, writer, peace activist and candidate for this seat in 2004
• Freddie Warman

Declined

• Andre Agassi, professional tennis player ^[31]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tessa Hafen	22,118	57.6
	Democratic	Barry Michaels	6,005	15.6
	Democratic	Anna Nevenic	4,832	12.6
	Democratic	Mark Budetich	3,885	10.1
	Democratic	Freddie Warman	1,578	4.1
Total votes			38,418	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joseph Silvestri, teacher, realtor and nominee for this seat in 2004

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Josh Hansen

General election

Endorsements

Tessa Hafen (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[24]

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, retired Army General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate ^[32]

Debate

• Complete video of debate, October 19, 2006

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Jon Porter (R)	Tessa Hafen (D)	Joseph Silvestri (L)	Josh Hansen (IA)	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [33]	October 26–30, 2006	400 (RV)	±5.0%	46%	39%	1%	4%	10%
RT Strategies and Constituent Dynamics [34]	October 24–26, 2006	1,031 (LV)	±3.0%	51%	44%	–	–	5%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [35]	September 19–21, 2006	400 (RV)	±5.0%	47%	37%	1%	2%	13%
RT Strategies and Constituent Dynamics [36]	August 27–29, 2006	1,018 (LV)	±3.1%	51%	43%	–	–	6%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Tossup	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg [4]	Tilt R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Tilt R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics [6]	Lean R	November 7, 2006
CQ Politics [7]	Lean R	November 7, 2006

Results

On election day Porter edged out Hafen by just under 4,000 votes, by far his tightest margin of victory in his congressional career thus far.

Nevada's 3rd congressional district election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Porter (incumbent)	102,232	48.5
	Democratic	Tessa Hafen	98,261	46.6
	Independent American	Josh Hansen	5,329	2.5
	Libertarian	Joseph Silvestri	5,157	2.4
Majority			3,971	1.9
Total votes			210,979	100.0
	Republican hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Jon Porter (R)	$3,015,397	$3,036,311	$107,933
Tessa Hafen (D)	$1,497,306	$1,501,465	$5,248
Joseph Silvestri (L)	Unreported
Joshua Hansen (IA)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Jon Porter (R)	$201,728	$775,260
Tessa Hafen (D)	$761,207	$444,884
Joseph Silvestri (L)	$0	$0
Joshua Hansen (IA)	$0	$0

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "2006 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
2. Laura Myers (June 12, 2014). "Handyman Mike Monroe's strong show in congressional primary has everyone asking why". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
3. "2006 Competitive House Race Chart" (PDF). House: Race Ratings. Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
4. "2006 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
5. "2006 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
6. "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
7. "Balance of Power Scorecard: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
8. Josh Kurtz (August 22, 2003). "Gibbons Expected to Announce Decision on Reid Challenge Next Week". rollcall.com/. Roll Call. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
9. Nicole Duran (January 7, 2005). "Gibbons' Wife to Explore Run for His House Seat". rollcall.com/. Roll Call. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
10. "List of Candidates". recordcourier.com. The Record Courier. August 2, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
11. "Gibbons sets a course to run for governor". nnbw.com. Northern Nevada Business Weekly. January 4, 2005. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
12. "Rep. Gibbons to Run for Nevada Gov.'s Seat". foxnews.com. Las Vegas, NV: Fox News. August 31, 2005. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
13. Marie Horrigan (August 16, 2006). "Heller Appears to Have Won GOP Primary in Nevada's 2nd". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
14. Las Vegas Review-Journal 2nd Rep Aug 06
15. Global Strategy Group
16. Research 2000
17. Las Vegas Review-Journal 2nd Rep Oct 05
18. Nicole Duran (May 4, 2005). "Nevada: Heller Leads D. Gibbons in GOP Primary Survey". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
19. "Primary Elections (August 15, 2006)". State of Nevada, 2006 Official Statewide Primary Election Results, August 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
20. Marie Horrigan (August 28, 2006). "Fight Over GOP Nod in Nevada 2 Could Help Democrat's Bid". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
21. Michael J. Mishak and J. Patrick Coolican (August 30, 2006). "What was Paul Adams thinking?". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
22. Marie Horrigan (September 5, 2006). "Heller's Win in Nevada 2 GOP Primary Becomes Official". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
23. Gina Good (February 17, 2006). "Babb, Derby, Gibbons vie for same congressional seat". Pahrump Valley Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
24. "Our Red to Blue Candidates". dccc.org. DCCC. Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
25. Las Vegas Review-Journal LARJ 2nd Oct
26. Poll: Nevada incumbent senator continues to lead Carter
27. Poll: Heller, Derby tied in House race
28. Las Vegas Review-Journal LARJ 2nd Sep
29. Poll shows close contest in Nevada 2nd Congressional race
30. 2006 Nevada Polls
31. Nicole Duran (July 11, 2005). "Citizen Hopes to Serve Up Agassi as Porter Foe". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
32. "Tessa Hafen (NV-3) | WesPAC". Archived from the original on November 4, 2006.
33. Las Vegas Review-Journal LARJ 3rd Oct
34. RT Strategies/CD RT Oct
35. Las Vegas Review-Journal LARJ 3rd Sep
36. RT Strategies/CD RT Aug

External links

• Election Results - 1962 to Present from the Secretary of State of Nevada
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites District 2 Jill Derby's Congressional campaign site Dean Heller's Congressional campaign site Daniel Rosen's Congressional campaign site