2006 United States Senate election in Nevada

2006 United States Senate election in Nevada

←  2000 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2012  →
Turnout	58.8% (voting eligible)
Nominee John Ensign Jack Carter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 322,501 238,796 Percentage 55.36% 40.99%
County results Ensign:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election John Ensign Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Ensign Republican

The 2006 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican John Ensign defeated Democratic nominee Jack Carter to win re-election to a second term. This election was the only Senate election in Nevada where the incumbent Republican Senator was re-elected or won re-election since 1980 and the only Senate election in Nevada for this seat where the incumbent Republican Senator was re-elected or won re-election since 1952.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Ensign, incumbent U.S. Senator

Defeated in primary

• Ed Hamilton, businessman

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ensign (incumbent)	127,023	90.47
	Republican	None of these candidates	6,754	4.81
	Republican	Ed Hamilton	6,629	4.72
Total votes			140,406	100.00

Democratic primary

Popular Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman had said in January 2006 that he would probably run, ^[2] but decisively ruled out a run in late April. ^[3] Going into the 2006 cycle, many top Nevada Democrats such as State Assembly speaker Richard Perkins indicated that the party would put more efforts into the gubernatorial election than into defeating Ensign. ^[3]

Candidates

Nominee

• Jack Carter, U.S Navy veteran and son of former President Jimmy Carter

Defeated in primary

• Ruby Jee Tun, middle school science teacher ^[2]

Declined

• Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas ^[3]
• Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General of Nevada ^[4]
• Dina Titus, member of the Nevada Senate ^[4] (ran for Governor)

Results

Democratic primary vote ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Carter	92,270	78.30
	Democratic	None of these candidates	14,425	12.24
	Democratic	Ruby Jee Tun	11,147	9.46
Total votes			117,842	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Jack Carter (D), Navy veteran and son of former President Jimmy Carter
• John Ensign (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
• David Schumann (I), retired financial analyst, 2004 nominee, and 2002 state senator nominee
• Brendan Trainor (L), state party chair, airline quality manager, and frequent candidate

Campaign

Carter's advantages included his formidable speaking abilities and kinship with a former U.S. president. On the other hand, Ensign was also considered to be an effective speaker and as of the first quarter of 2006, held an approximately 5–1 advantage over Carter in cash-on-hand.

Endorsements

Jack Carter (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate ^[5]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 15, 2006

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	John Ensign(R)	Jack Carter (D)	Others	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [6]	October 21–24, 2005	625 (RV)	±4.0%	59%	25%	–	16%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal)	October 25–31, 2005	?	±4.5%	48%	33%	–	19%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal)	December 1–6, 2005	?	±4.3%	52%	34%	–	14%
Rasmussen Reports [7]	January 23, 2006	?	±4.5%	53%	34%	7%	6%
Hart Research (D)	March 2–13, 2006	?	±3.1%	49%	32%	–	19%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [8]	March 22–27, 2006	?	±4.3%	52%	38%	–	11%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [9]	April 3–5, 2006	625 (RV)	±4.0%	60%	27%	–	13%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal/News 4) [10]	May 12–15, 2006	?	±4.0%	52%	32%	–	16%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [11]	June 13–19, 2006	?	±4.1%	51%	36%	–	13%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [11]	July 11–19, 2006	?	±4.3%	50%	35%	–	15%
Rasmussen Reports [12]	July 31, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.5%	46%	39%	4%	11%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [13]	August 7–10, 2006	625 (RV)	±4.0%	54%	33%	–	13%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [14]	August 15–21, 2006	?	±4.3%	48%	45%	–	7%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [14]	August 29–September 5, 2006	?	±4.4%	52%	40%	–	8%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal) [15]	September 5–7, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	56%	35%	–	9%
Rasmussen Reports [16]	September 6, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.5%	50%	41%	3%	6%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [14]	September 19–25, 2006	?	±4.2%	49%	42%	–	9%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [17]	September 19–26, 2006	625 (RV)	±4.0%	58%	35%	1%	6%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal) [18]	October 10–16, 2006	547 (LV)	±4.2%	52%	43%	–	5%
Rasmussen Reports [19]	October 17, 2006	500 (LV)	±4.5%	50%	42%	–	8%
Research 2000 (Reno Gazette-Journal) [20]	October 23–25, 2006	600 (LV)	±4.0%	55%	41%	–	4%
Zogby International (Wall Street Journal)	October 23–27, 2006	?	±4.4%	58%	37%	–	5%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [21]	October 26–30, 2006	?	±4.0%	54%	37%	–	9%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [4]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [22]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report [23]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics [24]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Results

Ensign won a majority of the votes in every county in the state, with his lowest percentage at 53%. ^[25]

General election results ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Ensign (incumbent)	322,501	55.36	+0.27
	Democratic	Jack Carter	238,796	40.99	+1.30
	None of These Candidates		8,232	1.41	–0.50
	Independent American	David K. Schumann	7,774	1.33	+0.91
	Libertarian	Brendan Trainor	5,269	0.90	+0.01
Majority			83,705	14.37	–1.03
Turnout			582,572	58.78	–9.87
	Republican hold		Swing	–0.5

See also

• 2006 United States Senate elections

Notes

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

References

1. "2006 Official Statewide Primary Election Results". nvsos.gov. August 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
2. Riley, Brendan (January 3, 2006). "Reid: Las Vegas mayor discusses Senate bid". Las Vegas Sun . Archived from the original on March 29, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2006.
3. Boone, Rebecca (April 26, 2021). "Las Vegas News | Breaking News & Headlines | Las Vegas Review-Journal". Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
4. "2006 Senate Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
5. "Jack Carter (Senate NV) | WesPAC". November 4, 2006. Archived from the original on November 4, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
6. Las Vegas Review-Journal/ Mason-Dixon Oct 05
7. Rasmussen Archived September 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
8. Zogby/WSJ
9. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon April
10. Reno Gazette-Journal/News 4
11. Zogby/WSJ
12. Rasmussen Archived September 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
13. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon
14. Zogby/WSJ
15. Reno Gazette-Journal/Research 2000
16. Rasmussen
17. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon Sep
18. Zogby/WSJ
19. Rasmussen Oct
20. Reno Gazette-Journal/Research 2000
21. 2006 Nevada Polls
22. "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
23. "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
24. "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
25. "2006 Federal & State Election Results | Nevada Secretary of State". www.nvsos.gov. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
26. Miller, Lorraine C. (September 21, 2007). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006". clerk.house.gov. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2021.

External links

Official campaign websites John Ensign (R) for Senate Jack Carter (D) for Senate Brendan Trainor (L) for Senate