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Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ricketts: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Nebraska |
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Government |
The 2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Pete Ricketts with 63.9% of the vote to Ricketts' 36.1%. Ricketts would later be appointed in January 2023 to Nebraska's other Senate seat after serving as Governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023.
As of 2024, this remains the last time Democrats won a statewide election in Nebraska.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 92,501 | 100.00 | |
Total votes | 92,501 | 100.00 |
Since Ricketts was a millionaire, he could finance his own campaign. His opponents could not raise enough money to keep up. Kramer raised $330,000 and Stenberg raised $246,000 in 2005.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Pete Ricketts | 129,643 | 48.14 | |
Republican | Don Stenberg | 96,496 | 35.83 | |
Republican | David J. Kramer | 43,185 | 16.03 | |
Total votes | 269,324 | 100.00 |
The primary election was held May 9, 2006. Pete Ricketts won the Republican nomination with 48% of the vote. Ben Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Nelson was elected in 2000 by a margin of 51% to 49% after serving as the state's governor for two terms. Nelson, considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, was the lone Democrat in Nebraska's Congressional delegation. This election was one of the most expensive in Nebraska history. In 2005, Ben Nelson raised $3.9 million for his re-election campaign. Pete Ricketts contributed $14.35 million of his own money to his campaign; he raised an additional $485,000 in contributions. The race also attracted national attention and generated several high-level campaign appearances. President George W. Bush appeared at a rally for Ricketts on November 5, 2006, in Grand Island, while then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared at a fundraiser for Nelson and other Nebraska Democrats on May 5, 2006 in Omaha. However, he won re-election by a large margin.
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [3] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [4] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Rothenberg Political Report [5] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
Real Clear Politics [6] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
Source | Date | Ben Nelson (D) | Pete Ricketts (R) |
---|---|---|---|
Rasmussen Archived January 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine | November 23, 2005 | 52% | 29% |
Rasmussen | April 26, 2006 | 54% | 36% |
Rasmussen | May 13, 2006 | 54% | 35% |
Rasmussen | July 17, 2006 | 57% | 31% |
Rasmussen | August 17, 2006 | 55% | 32% |
Rasmussen | September 26, 2006 | 55% | 32% |
Rasmussen | October 19, 2006 | 54% | 34% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 378,388 | 63.88% | +12.88% | |
Republican | Pete Ricketts | 213,928 | 36.12% | -12.70% | |
Total votes | 590,961 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic hold | |||||
From CNN [8]
County | Ben Nelson Democratic | Pete Ricketts Republican | Total votes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | # | % | # | ||
Adams | 67.18% | 10,222 | 32.82% | 4,993 | 15,215 |
Antelope | 57.54% | 1,556 | 42.46% | 1,148 | 2,704 |
Arthur | 40.60% | 95 | 59.40% | 139 | 234 |
Banner | 47.85% | 156 | 52.15% | 170 | 326 |
Blaine | 54.95% | 150 | 45.05% | 123 | 273 |
Boone | 65.23% | 1,664 | 34.77% | 887 | 2,551 |
Box Butte | 68.23% | 2,489 | 31.77% | 1,159 | 3,648 |
Boyd | 63.53% | 622 | 36.47% | 357 | 979 |
Brown | 51.09% | 706 | 48.91% | 676 | 1,382 |
Buffalo | 56.41% | 8,367 | 43.59% | 6,466 | 14,833 |
Burt | 69.49% | 2,034 | 30.51% | 893 | 2,927 |
Butler | 73.10% | 2,527 | 26.90% | 930 | 3,457 |
Cass | 62.85% | 5,819 | 37.15% | 3,440 | 9,259 |
Cedar | 66.34% | 2,608 | 33.66% | 1,323 | 3,931 |
Chase | 49.05% | 799 | 50.95% | 830 | 1,629 |
Cherry | 53.17% | 1,436 | 46.83% | 1,265 | 2,701 |
Cheyenne | 46.18% | 1,450 | 53.82% | 1,690 | 3,140 |
Clay | 64.47% | 1,662 | 35.53% | 916 | 2,578 |
Colfax | 69.44% | 1,947 | 30.56% | 857 | 2,804 |
Cuming | 63.45% | 1,953 | 36.55% | 1,125 | 3,078 |
Custer | 58.88% | 2,880 | 41.12% | 2,011 | 4,891 |
Dakota | 69.32% | 3,260 | 30.68% | 1,443 | 4,703 |
Dawes | 57.42% | 1,706 | 42.58% | 1,265 | 2,971 |
Dawson | 58.66% | 3,910 | 41.34% | 2,755 | 6,665 |
Deuel | 48.70% | 392 | 51.30% | 413 | 805 |
Dixon | 66.54% | 1,589 | 33.46% | 799 | 2,388 |
Dodge | 66.70% | 7,950 | 33.30% | 3,969 | 11,919 |
Douglas | 65.16% | 92,133 | 34.84% | 49,257 | 141,390 |
Dundy | 61.16% | 570 | 38.84% | 362 | 932 |
Fillmore | 71.49% | 1,780 | 28.51% | 710 | 2,490 |
Franklin | 64.88% | 946 | 35.12% | 512 | 1,458 |
Frontier | 65.34% | 820 | 34.66% | 435 | 1,255 |
Furnas | 65.55% | 1,347 | 34.45% | 708 | 2,055 |
Gage | 72.98% | 6,451 | 27.02% | 2,388 | 8,839 |
Garden | 48.45% | 500 | 51.55% | 532 | 1,032 |
Garfield | 59.09% | 543 | 40.91% | 376 | 919 |
Gosper | 62.89% | 622 | 37.11% | 367 | 989 |
Grant | 40.85% | 134 | 59.15% | 194 | 328 |
Greeley | 75.99% | 807 | 24.01% | 255 | 1,062 |
Hall | 61.52% | 10,371 | 38.48% | 6,487 | 16,858 |
Hamilton | 59.36% | 2,660 | 40.64% | 1,821 | 4,481 |
Harlan | 64.63% | 1,124 | 35.37% | 615 | 1,739 |
Hayes | 57.09% | 282 | 42.91% | 212 | 494 |
Hitchcock | 68.10% | 824 | 31.90% | 386 | 1,210 |
Holt | 51.44% | 2,288 | 48.56% | 2,160 | 4,448 |
Hooker | 56.23% | 185 | 43.77% | 144 | 329 |
Howard | 69.16% | 1,803 | 30.84% | 804 | 2,607 |
Jefferson | 71.41% | 2,265 | 28.59% | 907 | 3,172 |
Johnson | 75.18% | 1,369 | 24.82% | 452 | 1,821 |
Kearney | 58.76% | 1,614 | 41.24% | 1,133 | 2,747 |
Keith | 48.79% | 1,588 | 51.21% | 1,667 | 3,255 |
Keya Paha | 54.50% | 303 | 45.50% | 253 | 556 |
Kimball | 46.42% | 753 | 53.58% | 869 | 1,622 |
Knox | 63.65% | 2,054 | 36.35% | 1,173 | 3,227 |
Lancaster | 70.07% | 60,309 | 29.93% | 25,762 | 86,071 |
Lincoln | 61.23% | 7,664 | 38.77% | 4,852 | 12,516 |
Logan | 52.51% | 199 | 47.49% | 180 | 379 |
Loup | 64.36% | 242 | 35.64% | 134 | 376 |
Madison | 54.61% | 5,730 | 45.39% | 4,762 | 10,492 |
McPherson | 44.83% | 117 | 55.17% | 144 | 261 |
Merrick | 63.24% | 1,923 | 36.76% | 1,118 | 3,041 |
Morrill | 48.48% | 912 | 51.52% | 969 | 1,881 |
Nance | 71.70% | 1,206 | 28.30% | 476 | 1,682 |
Nemaha | 61.79% | 1,745 | 38.21% | 1,079 | 2,824 |
Nuckolls | 66.98% | 1,375 | 33.02% | 678 | 2,053 |
Otoe | 62.51% | 3,550 | 37.49% | 2,129 | 5,679 |
Pawnee | 67.39% | 835 | 32.61% | 404 | 1,239 |
Perkins | 52.97% | 669 | 47.03% | 594 | 1,263 |
Phelps | 57.90% | 2,269 | 42.10% | 1,650 | 3,919 |
Pierce | 55.99% | 1,378 | 44.01% | 1,083 | 2,461 |
Platte | 62.97% | 6,664 | 37.03% | 3,919 | 10,583 |
Polk | 62.92% | 1,432 | 37.08% | 844 | 2,276 |
Red Willow | 70.60% | 3,016 | 29.40% | 1,256 | 4,272 |
Richardson | 64.63% | 2,226 | 35.37% | 1,218 | 3,444 |
Rock | 54.99% | 413 | 45.01% | 338 | 751 |
Saline | 78.78% | 3,615 | 21.22% | 974 | 4,589 |
Sarpy | 59.27% | 24,640 | 40.73% | 16,935 | 41,575 |
Saunders | 67.62% | 5,393 | 32.38% | 2,582 | 7,975 |
Scotts Bluff | 51.98% | 5,834 | 48.02% | 5,389 | 11,223 |
Seward | 67.39% | 3,930 | 32.61% | 1,902 | 5,832 |
Sheridan | 43.55% | 820 | 56.45% | 1,063 | 1,883 |
Sherman | 70.99% | 1,018 | 29.01% | 416 | 1,434 |
Sioux | 39.85% | 216 | 60.15% | 326 | 542 |
Stanton | 53.92% | 1,067 | 46.08% | 912 | 1,979 |
Thayer | 70.16% | 1,627 | 29.84% | 692 | 2,319 |
Thomas | 53.12% | 179 | 46.88% | 158 | 337 |
Thurston | 73.89% | 1,296 | 26.11% | 458 | 1,754 |
Valley | 61.90% | 1,290 | 38.10% | 794 | 2,084 |
Washington | 57.95% | 4,394 | 42.05% | 3,189 | 7,583 |
Wayne | 63.90% | 1,963 | 36.10% | 1,109 | 3,072 |
Webster | 67.36% | 1,164 | 32.64% | 564 | 1,728 |
Wheeler | 65.72% | 255 | 34.28% | 133 | 388 |
York | 57.50% | 3,118 | 42.50% | 2,305 | 5,423 |
Earl Benjamin Nelson is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and as of 2024, the last Democrat to hold any statewide elected office in Nebraska.
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Don Stenberg is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 31st Attorney General of Nebraska from 1991 to 2003 and 43rd Treasurer of Nebraska from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was legal counsel to Governor Charles Thone from 1979 to 1983.
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