2006 United States Senate election in Florida

2006 United States Senate election in Florida
	County results; Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Harris: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election; Bill Nelson; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Bill Nelson; Democratic

The 2006 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson won re-election to a second term.

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

LeRoy Collins Jr., retired naval officer and son of former Governor LeRoy Collins
Katherine Harris, U.S. Representative
Will McBride, attorney
Peter Monroe, businessman and former COO of the Federal Housing Administration [1]

Endorsements[]

The Bradenton Herald: Will McBride^[1]
Florida (Jacksonville) Times-Union: LeRoy Collins, Jr. or Peter Monroe^[2]
Gainesville Sun: LeRoy Collins, Jr.^[3]
Lakeland Ledger: LeRoy Collins, Jr.
Miami Herald: LeRoy Collins, Jr.^[4]
Naples Daily News: LeRoy Collins, Jr.^[3]
Orlando Sentinel: Will McBride^[5]
Palm Beach Post: Peter Monroe^[3]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: not making an endorsement
South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun Sentinel: Peter Monroe^[3]
St. Petersburg Times: LeRoy Collins, Jr.^[3]
Tampa Tribune: LeRoy Collins, Jr.^[3]

Polling[]

Poll Source	Date	LeRoy Collins Jr.	Katherine Harris	Will McBride	Peter Monroe
Strategic Vision	July 26, 2006	9%	45%	22%	7%
Mason-Dixon	July 26, 2006	8%	36%	11%	2%
Quinnipiac	July 27, 2006	6%	40%	21%	3%
Scroth Eldon & Associates	August 11, 2006	9%	28%	11%	5%
SurveyUSA	August 24, 2006	20%	43%	15%	7%
Strategic Vision	August 30, 2006	19%	38%	21%	5%
Quinnipiac	August 31, 2006	11%	38%	22%	3%
SurveyUSA	August 31, 2006	12%	45%	22%	5%
Mason-Dixon^{[permanent dead link]}	September 2, 2006	17%	38%	21%	2%
Primary Results	September 5, 2006	15%	49%	30%	5%

Results[]

Republican primary results^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Katherine Harris	474,871	49.4
	Republican	Will McBride	287,741	30.0
	Republican	LeRoy Collins Jr.	146,712	15.3
	Republican	Peter Monroe	51,330	5.3
Total votes			960,654	100.0

General election[]

Candidates[]

Democrat[]

Bill Nelson, incumbent U.S. Senator

Republican[]

Katherine Harris, former Florida Secretary of State and former U.S. Representative

Independents[]

Floyd Ray Frazier
Brian Moore, retired health care executive and former congressional candidate
Belinda Noah
Roy Tanner

Write-ins[]

Alexander Grosholz
Lawrence Scott
Bernard Senter

Campaign[]

The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which monitors political corruption, complained to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) in October 2006 that the Bacardi beverage company had illegally used corporate resources in support of a fundraising event for Nelson in 2005. CREW had previously filed a similar complaint concerning a Bacardi fundraising event for Republican Senator Mel Martinez, an event that raised as much as $60,000 for Martinez's campaign. The amended complaint alleged that, on both occasions, Bacardi violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations by soliciting contributions from a list of the corporation’s vendors.^[7]

Endorsements[]

In a rare move, all twenty-two of Florida's daily newspapers supported Nelson, while none supported Harris in the general election.^[8]

Bradenton Herald: Bill Nelson^[9]
: Bill Nelson^[9]
Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bill Nelson^[10]
Florida Times-Union: Bill Nelson^[11]
Fort Myers News-Press: Bill Nelson^[12]
Gainesville Sun: Bill Nelson^[13]
Lakeland Ledger: Bill Nelson^[9]
Miami Herald: Bill Nelson^[9]
Naples Daily News: Bill Nelson^[14]
Orlando Sentinel: Bill Nelson^[15]
Palm Beach Post: Bill Nelson^[16]
Pensacola News Journal: Bill Nelson^[17]
Saint Petersburg Times: Bill Nelson^[18]
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bill Nelson^[19]
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers: Bill Nelson^[20]
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Bill Nelson^[21]
Tallahassee Democrat: Bill Nelson^[22]
Tampa Tribune: Bill Nelson^[23]

Debates[]

Complete video of debate, October 23, 2006
Complete video of debate, November 1, 2006

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[24]	Solid D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[25]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report^[26]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics^[27]	Safe D	November 6, 2006

Polling[]

Poll Source	Date	Bill Nelson (D)	Katherine Harris (R)
Strategic Vision (R)	July 20, 2005	48%	40%
Strategic Vision (R)	August 21, 2005	47%	38%
Quinnipiac	August 31, 2005	57%	33%
Strategic Vision (R)	September 22, 2005	48%	36%
Rasmussen	November 14, 2005	53%	36%
Quinnipiac	November 15, 2005	55%	31%
Strategic Vision (R)	November 30, 2005	48%	32%
Rasmussen	January 5, 2006	54%	31%
Rasmussen	February 14, 2006	49%	40%
Strategic Vision (R)	February 22, 2006	49%	34%
Quinnipiac	February 24, 2006	53%	31%
University of North Florida	March 15, 2006	48%	28%
Mason-Dixon	March 29, 2006	51%	35%
Strategic Vision (R)	March 30, 2006	56%	28%
Zogby/WSJ	March 31, 2006	50%	37%
Rasmussen	April 14, 2006	57%	27%
Quinnipiac	April 20, 2006	56%	27%
Strategic Vision (R)	April 26, 2006	56%	24%
Rasmussen	May 22, 2006	60%	33%
Strategic Vision (R)	May 25, 2006	56%	26%
Quinnipiac	May 25, 2006	58%	25%
Zogby/WSJ	June 21, 2006	51%	33%
Strategic Vision (R)	June 28, 2006	61%	26%
Quinnipiac	June 30, 2006	59%	26%
Zogby/WSJ	July 24, 2006	55%	34%
Strategic Vision (R)	July 26, 2006	60%	22%
Mason-Dixon	July 26, 2006	57%	29%
Quinnipiac	July 27, 2006	61%	24%
Rasmussen	July 28, 2006	61%	33%
St. Petersburg Times	August 11, 2006	60%	25%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28, 2006	52%	32%
Strategic Vision (R)	August 30, 2006	63%	20%
Rasmussen	September 5, 2006	57%	34%
Zogby/WSJ	September 11, 2006	51%	33%
SurveyUSA	September 14, 2006	53%	38%
Mason-Dixon	September 20–22, 2006	53%	35%
Strategic Vision (R)	September 27, 2006	59%	31%
Rasmussen	September 27, 2006	56%	33%
Rasmussen	October 4, 2006	54%	37%
SurveyUSA	October 10, 2006	55%	37%
Quinnipiac	October 11, 2006	61%	33%
Mason-Dixon	October 16–17, 2006	57%	31%
Strategic Vision (R)	October 25, 2006	58%	35%
Quinnipiac	October 25, 2006	64%	29%
St. Petersburg Times	October 28, 2006	56%	30%
Strategic Vision (R)	November 2, 2006	59%	33%
Mason-Dixon	November 3, 2006	58%	34%
SurveyUSA	November 5, 2006	59%	36%

Results[]

As expected, Nelson was easily reelected. He won with 60.3% of the vote winning by 1,064,421 votes or 22.2%, and carried 57 of Florida's 67 counties. Nelson was projected the winner right when the polls closed at 7 P.M. EST.

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Nelson (incumbent)	2,890,548	60.3	+9.8
	Republican	Katherine Harris	1,826,127	38.1	-8.1
	Independent	Belinda Noah	24,880	0.5	n/a
	Independent	Brian Moore	19,695	0.4	n/a
	Independent	Floyd Ray Frazier	16,628	0.3	n/a
	Independent	Roy Tanner	15,562	0.3	n/a
	Write-in		94	0.0	n/a
Majority			1,064,421	22.2	+17.4
Turnout			4,793,534
	Democratic hold		Swing

References[]

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ U.S. SENATE: It's a toss up | Jacksonville.com
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/nation/epaper/2006/08/25/a9a_endorse_0825.html^{[dead link]}
^ 404 | MiamiHerald.com^{[dead link]}
^ Topic Galleries - OrlandoSentinel.com^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Official Results September 5, 2006 Republican Primary Election". Florida Department of State. September 5, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^ "CREW FILES AMENDED FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST BACARDI USA AND MARTINEZ FOR SENATE". Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
^ Harris, Nelson tout testimonials
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
^ U.S. SENATE: Nelson the best choice | Jacksonville.com
^ The News Press Endorsement Recap
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
^ Nelson for U.S. Senate
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
^ Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL
^ "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
^ "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.
^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

External links[]

Debates

Debate, October 23, 2006

Campaign Websites (Archived)

[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] U.S. SENATE: It's a toss up | Jacksonville.com

[autogenerated2-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/nation/epaper/2006/08/25/a9a_endorse_0825.html^{[dead link]}

[4] 404 | MiamiHerald.com^{[dead link]}

[5] Topic Galleries - OrlandoSentinel.com^{[permanent dead link]}

[6] "Official Results September 5, 2006 Republican Primary Election". Florida Department of State. September 5, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2017.

[7] "CREW FILES AMENDED FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST BACARDI USA AND MARTINEZ FOR SENATE". Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved August 7, 2018.

[twentytwo-8] Harris, Nelson tout testimonials

[autogenerated1-9] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2008.

[10] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.

[11] U.S. SENATE: Nelson the best choice | Jacksonville.com

[newspress-12] The News Press Endorsement Recap

[13] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.

[14] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.

[15] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2006.

[16] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2006.

[17] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2006.

[stpt-18] Nelson for U.S. Senate

[19] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.

[20] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.

[21] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.

[22] Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL

[23] "Bill Nelson For Senate". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.

[24] "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.

[25] "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[26] "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

[27] "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

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2006 United States Senate election in Florida

Contents

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Endorsements[]

Polling[]

Results[]

General election[]

Candidates[]

Democrat[]

Republican[]

Independents[]

Write-ins[]

Campaign[]

Endorsements[]

Debates[]

Predictions[]

Polling[]

Results[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]