2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia

none March 2026 November 2017 2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia West Virginia presidential no 2000 United States Senate election in West Virginia 2000 2010 United States Senate special election in West Virginia 2010 (special) November 7, 2006 File:Robert Byrd, official photo portrait, 111th Congress.jpg 150x150px Robert Byrd Democratic Party (United States) 296,276 64.42% File:John Raese.jpg John Raese Republican Party (United States) 155,043 33.71% 2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia results map by county.svg 250px County resultsByrd: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Raese: #e27f7f 50–60% U.S. Senator Robert Byrd Democratic Party (United States) Robert Byrd Democratic Party (United States) The 2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd won re-election to a ninth term.HomeCNN.com - Elections 2006 He was sworn in on January 3, 2007. However, he died in office on June 28, 2010, before the end of his term. This was one of five Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state that George W. Bush won in the 2004 presidential election. Background Before the 2000 presidential election, West Virginia had been won by the Democratic nominee every time starting in 1932 (except for the Republican landslides of 1956, 1972, and 1984). In 2000, then Republican governor George W. Bush of Texas won West Virginia’s five electoral college votes over then Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee by a margin of 52–46. Also in the 2000 election, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, the daughter of Former West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr., won a surprise victory over Democrat Jim Humphreys for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District seat to the United States House of Representatives. She would become the first Republican in West Virginia to hold a Congressional office for more than one term since her father in 1969. Before these two major victories for national and West Virginia Republicans, it was difficult to find a Republican who could mount a formidable campaign against Democrats running for public office in West Virginia. President Bush won West Virginia again in the 2004 presidential election over John F. Kerry, the Democratic junior Senator from Massachusetts by a margin of 56–43. Both Representative Alan Mollohan (D-1st District) and Representative Nick Rahall (D-3rd District) had more formidable challenges from Republicans when compared to 2000 and 2002. Republican Brent Benjamin defeated Democratic incumbent West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Warren McGraw, and Republican Betty Ireland defeated liberal-Democrat Ken Hechler, a former congressman and secretary of state, for West Virginia Secretary of State. Since 2000, the Republicans have gained seven net seats in both the West Virginia Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates. However, the Democrats hold 60% of the seats in the Senate and 68% of the seats in the House. Along with continued majorities in the legislature, Democrats have also had some other victories. Even though both Bush and Capito won their respective offices in 2000, Senator Byrd sailed to an eighth term with 78% of the vote over Republican David Gallaher. Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, easily won a fourth term to the Senate in 2002 by a margin of 63–37 over Republican Jay Wolfe. In 2000, 2002, and 2004, both Representative Mollohan and Representative Rahall were re-elected by much stronger margins than Capito. In 2004, Republican Monty Warner failed to defeat Democratic West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin for governor. After the Republicans failed to win the governor’s race, West Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Kris Warner, the brother of Monty, was put under pressure to resign his post; he did so in May 2005.http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=2679 Warner to Quit as GOP Chairman - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com November 24, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20051001030122/http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=2679 October 1, 2005 dead mdy-all Wheeling attorney Rob Capehart took his place. (Dr. Doug McKinney of Bridgeport now holds the post.) Another brother of Monty, Kasey, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001, was removed as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia on August 1, 2005. No explanation has been given for his departure and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller currently represents the district. Democratic primary Candidates Two Democrats filed for the primary on May 9, 2006:HomePolitics1 – Online Guide to West Virginia Politics Robert Byrd, (D-Raleigh), Incumbent U.S. senator Billy Hendricks, Jr., (D-Boone), auto worker Results 2006 West Virginia United States Senate Election Democratic Primary Democratic Party (United States) Robert Byrd (incumbent) 159,154 85.7% Democratic Party (United States) Billy Hendricks, Jr. 26,609 14.3% Republican primary Recruiting Shelley Moore Capito: Both state and national Republicans chose Capito as their first choice to challenge Byrd. Early polling showed Byrd with only around a ten-point lead. Capito had even met with National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairwoman Elizabeth Dole, whose husband, Robert Dole, served alongside Byrd as majority and minority leader in the Senate, to discuss a possible run.http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/062305.html Capito, Dole discuss Senate bid October 26, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20051202130809/http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/062305.html December 2, 2005 dead mdy-all The Hill Despite party leaders pushing for her to run, on October 3, 2005, Capito announced she would seek a fourth term for her congressional seat rather than run against Byrd. She cited the negativity of a possible Byrd-Capito race as a reason for not running.http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5576 Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito Won't Run For Senate - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com October 26, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060321171715/http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5576 March 21, 2006 dead mdy-all Other reasons for Capito not running include the following: Capito's seat is widely considered safe; Capito is rising in House leadership; if Capito ran against Byrd, her seat could possibly have fallen back into the Democratic column; and Capito's large amount of contributions from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay could be brought into question. Betty Ireland: After Capito decided not to run, Republicans hoped to recruit Secretary of State Ireland, the first woman elected to the executive branch of West Virginia. On October 27, 2005, however, Ireland announced she would not run against the eight-term senator. She said that the office of Secretary of State should not be used as a political stepping stone.http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6227 Secretary of State Betty Ireland Won't Challenge Byrd - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com November 24, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060513110722/http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6227 May 13, 2006 dead mdy-all Ironically, Joe Manchin held the office of Secretary of State during his campaign for governor. Gale Catlett: Conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote in a September 24, 2005, articlehttp://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/robertnovak/2005/09/24/155691.html Robert Novak – Townhall Conservative December 3, 2005 December 2, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20051202193439/http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/robertnovak/2005/09/24/155691.html dead that Gale Catlett's, the former head coach of the West Virginia University Men's Basketball team, name had been floated around as a possible challenger to Byrd. Catlett had in fact talked to West Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Capehart about either running against Byrd or possibly Representative Mollohan. It was also reported that if Capito had run against Byrd, Catlett would seek her seat. However, on November 11, 2005, Catlett decided not to run against Senator Byrd or Representative Mollohan. https://web.archive.org/web/20070704072543/http://theintelligencer.net/news/story/1112202005_new2catlett.asp July 4, 2007 (A side note: On November 12, 2005, Ohio County Delegate Chris Wakim (R) announced his intentions to run against Representative Mollohan.http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6721 Wakim Will Challenge Mollohan in Congressional Race - WTRF-TV - WTRF.com December 3, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060510151943/http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6721 May 10, 2006 dead mdy-all ) Capehart: Also mentioned as a possible challenger was Chairman Capehart. Capehart told West Virginia Media Holding’s State Journal on December 5, 2005, that he would not seek the seat. He said that he would remain as chairman to accomplish his main goal: To completely erase the party's $200,000 debt which was left over after the 2004 election cycle.http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=7120 Capehart Will Not Run for U.S. Senate - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com December 8, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060117232302/http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=7120 January 17, 2006 dead John Raese: On January 11, 2006, TheHill.com reported that NRSC Chairwoman Dole met with 1984 Republican United States Senate candidate and 1988 Republican Gubernatorial primary-candidate Raese to discuss a possible run for the nomination in May.http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/011106/byrd.html Raese pressed to take on Byrd January 12, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060116100919/http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/011106/byrd.html January 16, 2006 dead mdy-all Raese did file for the primary by the deadline of January 28, 2006. Candidates Six Republicans filed for the primary on May 9, 2006: Paul J. Brown, activist Zane Lawhorn, optician and author Hiram Lewis, member of the West Virginia Army National Guard and a self-employed attorney Bud Railey, land-developer and unsuccessful governor candidate John Raese, owner of Greer Industries, West Virginia Newspaper Publishing Company (which publishes The Dominion Post), and West Virginia Radio Corporation Rick Snuffer, unsuccessful 2004 congressional candidate Results 2006 West Virginia United States Senate Election Republican Primary Republican Party (United States) John Raese 47,408 58.3% Republican Party (United States) Hiram Lewis 18,496 22.7% Republican Party (United States) Rick Snuffer 4,870 6.0% Republican Party (United States) Charles G. "Bud" Railey 4,364 5.4% Republican Party (United States) Paul J. Brown 3,464 4.3% Republican Party (United States) Zane Lawhorn 2,723 3.3% General election Candidates Three candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election on November 7, 2006: Robert Byrd (D), incumbent U.S. senator Jesse Johnson (M), filmmaker, actor, and theatrical producer John Raese (R), businessman Campaign Byrd was extremely popular as he had approval ratings in the low 60% range.http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5441 Senator Robert C. Byrd Makes Official Announcement - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com October 26, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060321171919/http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5441 March 21, 2006 dead mdy-all Raese, a millionaire, self-financed his campaign. He spent campaign ads on attacking Byrd. Predictions Source Ranking As of The Cook Political Report2006 Senate Race Ratings for November 6, 2006 https://cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_sen_ratings_nov6.pdf The Cook Political Report https://web.archive.org/web/20080605093937/https://cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_sen_ratings_nov6.pdf September 30, 2021 June 5, 2008 Solid D November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal BallElection Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs2006110601/ Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2006 June 25, 2021 Safe D November 6, 2006 Rothenberg Political Report2006 Senate Ratings https://www.insideelections.com/ratings/senate/2006-senate-ratings6 Senate Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report June 25, 2021 Safe D November 6, 2006 Real Clear PoliticsElection 2006 https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/writeup/election_2006-21.html Real Clear Politics June 25, 2021 Safe D November 6, 2006 Polling Source Date RobertByrd (D) JohnRaese (R)RasmussenRasmussen February 19, 2006 58% 32%RasmussenRasmussen April 25, 2006 57% 34%RMS StrategiesRMS Strategies May 22, 2006 59% 30%RasmussenRasmussen August 1, 2006 56% 31%RasmussenRasmussen September 5, 2006 63% 30%PolimetrixPolimetrix https://web.archive.org/web/20061122143323/http://www.polimetrix.com/news_20061106.html November 22, 2006 November 5, 2006 67% 33% Results 2006 West Virginia United States Senate General Election Democratic Party (United States) Robert Byrd (incumbent) 296,276 64.42% -13.33% Republican Party (United States) John Raese 155,043 33.71% +13.55% Mountain Party Jesse Johnson 8,565 1.86% n/a 141,233 30.71% -26.89% 459,884 40.4% -21.5 Democratic Party (United States) Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Doddridge (largest municipality: West Union) Analysis Byrd defeated Raese and Johnson 64–34–2. Representative Mollohan defeated Delegate Wakim 64–36. Representative Capito defeated former West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Callaghan 57–43. Representative Rahall defeated Cabell County Sheriff Kim Wolfe 69–31. Even though there was a two million dollar ad campaign by Massey Energy's CEO Don Blankenship against West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate Democrats, Democrats gained a net four seats in the House and two seats in the Senate. This resulted in a 72-28 Democrat advantage in the House and a 23-11 Democrat advantage in the Senate. With the 2007 Democratic takeover of the United States Senate, Senator Byrd became the President pro tempore of the Senate (the third person in the presidential line of succession) as well as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. See also 2006 United States Senate elections 2006 United States House of Representatives elections References External links Official campaign websites (archived) Robert Byrd (D) for Senate John Raese (R) for Senate 2006 West Virginia Category:2006 West Virginia elections Category:Robert Byrd