• Source: 2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

      • The 2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Lincoln Chafee sought re-election to a second full term in office, the seat he had held since 1999 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father John Chafee. He lost to Democratic nominee, former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse by a 7-point margin. Lincoln Chafee later left the Republican Party in September 2007 before running successfully as an Independent for Governor of Rhode Island in 2010.
      Whitehouse carried Providence County, which contains approximately 60% of the state's population, with 59% to Chafee's 41%. Chafee's strongest showing was in Washington County (South County), where he took 55% of the vote against Whitehouse's 45%. After the election, when asked by a reporter if he thought his defeat would help the country by giving Democrats control of Congress, Chafee replied, "to be honest, yes."
      As of 2023, this was the last time the Republican candidates won the counties of Bristol and Washington in a statewide election. Democrats won this Senate seat for the first time since 1970; this also marked the first time since that election that the winner of Rhode Island's Class 1 Senate seat was not a member of the Chafee family. Chafee would go on to run for governor and was elected in 2010. Sheldon Whitehouse's inauguration or swearing-in marked the first time since the resignation of John Pastore in 1976 that Democrats held both Senate seats from Rhode Island.


      Democratic primary




      = Candidates

      =
      Carl Sheeler, Marine veteran
      Sheldon Whitehouse, former Attorney General of Rhode Island and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island
      Christopher F. Young, activist and perennial candidate


      = Campaign

      =
      Whitehouse was endorsed by U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Congressmen Jim Langevin and Patrick J. Kennedy, as well as by former candidate Matt Brown. Sheeler, a former U.S. Marine, a business owner, and an adjunct professor of business, ran on a more progressive platform. Ultimately, however, Whitehouse would trounce his competition in the primary on September 12, winning his party's support by a large margin.


      = Results

      =


      Republican primary




      = Candidates

      =
      Lincoln Chafee, incumbent U.S. Senator
      Steve Laffey, Mayor of Cranston


      = Campaign

      =
      Incumbent Lincoln Chafee was one of the most liberal members of the Republican Party in the Senate by 2006, and was challenged for the Republican nomination by Laffey who had criticized Chafee for his liberal voting record in the Senate. In early 2006, the Club for Growth, a pro-tax cut political action committee, sent a series of mailings to Rhode Island Republicans attacking Chafee's positions and voting record.
      The national GOP supported Chafee in the primary campaign, believing that he was the most likely candidate to hold the seat in the general election. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senator John McCain of Arizona and First Lady Laura Bush appeared at fundraisers for Chafee, while Senator Bill Frist's PAC donated to Chafee. The National Republican Senatorial Committee also ran ads in the state supporting Chafee. Steve Laffey, however, picked up many endorsements from Republican town committees throughout Rhode Island, the national group Club for Growth, and former candidate for the party's presidential nomination Steve Forbes. On July 10, 2006, the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Laffey, saying that he had included a political communication in tax bills mailed to residents of Cranston.


      = Debates

      =
      Complete video of debate, August 23, 2006 - C-SPAN
      Complete video of debate, August 26, 2006 - C-SPAN


      = Polling

      =


      = Results

      =


      General election




      = Candidates

      =
      Lincoln Chafee (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
      Sheldon Whitehouse (D), former state Attorney General


      = Campaign

      =
      Democrats believed that this was one of the most likely Senate seats to switch party control, due to the Democratic tilt of Rhode Island, as well as the fact that Chafee needed to expend part of his campaign fund to win the Republican primary election. Chafee's approval ratings also took a beating from his primary battle with Laffey and may have hurt him in the general election. Another factor that hurt Chafee was the fact that Whitehouse, the Democratic nominee, had a huge head start on him, as he was able to campaign with little opposition for at least half the year and had not had to contend with a major opponent until the general election campaign. Rhode Islanders' historically large disapproval ratings for President George W. Bush and the Republican Party as a whole was another major hurdle for Chafee.


      = Debates

      =
      Complete video of debate, October 19, 2006 - C-SPAN
      Complete video of debate, October 30, 2006 - C-SPAN


      = Issues

      =
      Whitehouse and Chafee did not have large differences on political issues. On social issues, they were almost entirely in agreement with each other. Chafee was also against the Bush tax cuts. On fiscal issues, such as social security and trade, they were however in disagreement.

      Abortion
      Chafee - pro-choice
      Whitehouse - pro-choice
      Stem-Cell research
      Chafee - support
      Whitehouse - support
      Death penalty
      Chafee - strongly opposes
      Whitehouse - support in federal level, but not in state level
      Gay Marriage
      Chafee - supports
      Whitehouse - supports
      Privatizing Social Security
      Chafee - Partially Supports
      Whitehouse - Strongly Against
      Bush Tax Cuts
      Chafee - Strongly against
      Whitehouse - Strongly against
      Vouchers
      Chafee - rated 55% by NEA, representing a mixed record
      Whitehouse - Strongly against
      Federal Spending on Health Care
      Chafee - Strongly supports
      Whitehouse - Strongly supports
      PATRIOT Act
      Chafee - supports
      Whitehouse - against
      Free Trade
      Chafee - supports
      Whitehouse - against
      [1]


      = Predictions

      =


      = Polling

      =


      = Results

      =
      Whitehouse defeated Chafee in his bid for a second full term. Whitehouse lost every county except Providence County, home to the majority of the state's residents. His victory here was enough to win the state.
      As a testament to how Democratic Rhode Island has become, this marks the last Senate election where a Republican received more than 40% of the vote or won a county. Chafee himself would later leave the Republican Party and serve as Governor of Rhode Island as an Independent. He later joined the Democratic Party, running for president in 2016.


      Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic


      Providence (largest municipality: Providence)


      See also


      2006 United States Senate elections


      References




      External links


      Sheldon Whitehouse for Senate
      Senator Chafee Earns Sierra Club Endorsement
      Rhode Island Election Results Archived June 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

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