2006 United States Senate election in Wyoming

2006 United States Senate election in Wyoming

←  2000 November 7, 2006 2008 (special)  →

Nominee Craig L. Thomas Dale Groutage Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 135,174 57,761 Percentage 69.99% 29.86%

County results Precinct results Thomas:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Groutage:      50–60%     60–70% Tie:     50%     No votes

U.S. senator before election Craig L. Thomas Republican Elected U.S. Senator Craig L. Thomas Republican

The 2006 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held November 7, 2006. The primaries were on August 22, 2006, in which both incumbent Republican Craig Thomas and his Democratic challenger were unopposed. Thomas won re-election to a third term, but died of leukemia on June 4, 2007; fellow Republican John Barrasso was subsequently appointed and has held the seat since.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Dale Groutage, engineer

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dale Groutage	24,924	100.00
Total votes			24,924	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Craig Thomas, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Republican primary results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Craig Thomas (incumbent)	78,211	100.00
Total votes			78,211	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Dale Groutage (D), engineer
• Craig Thomas (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

Campaign

Thomas was a very popular two term incumbent, having a 68% approval rating. ^[3] Despite doing very well in the polls, Thomas agreed to a debate. An October debate was sponsored by the Casper Star-Tribune and KCWY in Casper. Thomas said the nation has made progress in its energy policy, while Groutage said the nation's energy policy has failed because Congress has done more for special interests than the people. ^[4]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 22, 2006

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [5]	Solid R	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball [6]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report [7]	Safe R	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics [8]	Safe R	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	Thomas (R)	Groutage (D)
Rasmussen [9]	May 8, 2006	64%	25%
Rasmussen [10]	July 20, 2006	59%	32%
Mason-Dixon [11]	October 16, 2006	67%	26%
Aspen Media & Market Research [12]	October 18, 2006	70%	22%

Results

General election results ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Craig L. Thomas (incumbent)	135,174	69.99%	−3.78%
	Democratic	Dale Groutage	57,671	29.86%	+7.82%
		Write-ins	291	0.15%
Majority			77,503	40.13%	−11.61%
Turnout			193,136
	Republican hold		Swing

Thomas won at least 56% of the vote in every county in Wyoming.

See also

• 2006 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
2. "Results" (PDF). soswy.state.wy.us. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
4. Candidates face off for first time – Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online
5. "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.
6. "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
7. "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
8. "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
9. Rasmussen
10. Rasmussen
11. Mason-Dixon ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
12. Aspen Media & Market Research
13. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2021.