1,278,849 835,653 Start date November 7, 2006 | 58.1% 37.9% | |
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Winner Amy Klobuchar | ||
The 2006 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 7, 2006. The incumbent DFL U.S. Senator Mark Dayton decided in February 2005 that he would retire instead of seeking a second term. The primary elections took place on September 12, 2006. DFL nominee Amy Klobuchar won the open seat.
Contents
Candidates
Campaign
Klobuchar gained the early endorsement of the majority of DFL state legislators in Minnesota. A poll taken of DFL state delegates showed Klobuchar beating her then closest opponent, Patty Wetterling, 66% to 15%. As of June 30, 2005, Klobuchar had more cash on hand than any other candidate, nearly $1,100,000.
Klobuchar was endorsed by EMILY's List on 29 September 2005. On January 20, 2006, Wetterling dropped out of the race and endorsed Klobuchar. [1] [2]
Former Senate candidate and prominent lawyer Mike Ciresi, who was widely seen as the only other serious potential DFL candidate, indicated on February 7, 2006 that he would not enter the race. That removal of her most significant potential competitor for the DFL nomination was viewed as an important boost for Klobuchar. [3]
The only other serious candidate for the DFL endorsement was veterinarian Ford Bell. Klobuchar won the official DFL endorsement on June 9, 2006. Bell dropped out of the race on July 10 citing inability to compete financially and also endorsed Klobuchar.
Candidates
Campaign
Kennedy had faced potential challenges from former U.S. Senator Rod Grams, as well as U.S. Representative Gil Gutknecht, but both men were persuaded by national GOP leaders to run for the House instead. (Grams lost to Representative James Oberstar, while Gutknecht lost his reelection bid to Tim Walz.)
Candidates
Major
Minor
Campaign
Kennedy's routine support of President George W. Bush in House votes appears to be a central issue for Democrats in the senatorial campaign. In June 2006, allegations were made that many references to and photos of Bush had been removed from Kennedy's official house website; in rebuttal, Republicans said that there were 72 references to Bush on the website and that the changes noted by critics had been made some time ago, as part of the normal updating process. [4] Ben Powers was the only ballot-qualified candidate not to be invited to appear on Minnesota Public Television's Almanac program, despite Mr. Powers' offer to fill the space left unfilled by Ms. Klobuchar's decision not to appear with Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Fitzgerald on the program. Green candidate Michael Cavlan appeared on the program twice during the 2006 campaign as a special guest.
Polling
After the release of the Minnesota Poll on 17 September 2006, showing Klobuchar ahead by 24%, Kennedy's campaign issued a statement [5] from Joe Pally, the campaign's communications director. He claimed that the margin was exaggerated because of bias by the Star Tribune and that the poll "is clearly more about discouraging Kennedy supporters than on reflecting the true status of one of the most closely contested Senate races in the country.". This press release came in the wake of news that the Republican party was scaling back funding for Kennedy's election campaign to shore up campaigns in states seen as winnable. Kennedy's campaign frequently accused the Star Tribune of bias in favor of Klobuchar, whose father was an editorial columnist and sports writer for the "Strib" until his retirement. As noted below, a subsequent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed a similar margin of victory for Klobuchar and the St.Paul Pioneer Press also showed Klobuchar with a 15% lead in September. Klobuchar ultimately won the November 7 election with greater than a 20% margin of victory.