2006 United States Senate election in Ohio

The 2006 United States Senate election in Ohio was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Mike DeWine ran for re-election, but was defeated by Democratic congressman Sherrod Brown.[1] As of 2021, this is the most recent time a Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio won a race by double digits. 12 years later, in 2018, DeWine would run for governor of Ohio, and win.

2006 United States Senate election in Ohio
November 7, 2006
Turnout53.25% (Registered Voters)
 
Nominee Sherrod Brown Mike DeWine
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,257,369 1,761,037
Percentage 56.2% 43.8%
County results
Brown:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
DeWine:      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Mike DeWine
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Sherrod Brown
Democratic

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Background

The incumbent Republican Senator R. Michael DeWine had approval ratings at 38%,[2] making him the second most unpopular U.S. Senator behind Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum, who was also up for reelection in 2006 – an election he ultimately lost. Pre-election stories in the U.S. media suggested that the national Republican Party may have given up on saving Senator DeWine's Senate seat before election date. Sherrod Brown, former Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Representative from Ohio's 13th district was the Democratic candidate, and the eventual winner.

Democratic primary

Declared

Withdrew

Campaign

Hackett announced on February 13, 2006 that he would withdraw from the race, because national party leaders had decided that Sherrod Brown had a better chance against DeWine. The Plain Dealer (2/18/06) also reported that there had been concerns that Hackett might not have had enough money after the primary to run the statewide advertising customary for a Senate campaign.

Results
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sherrod Brown 583,776 78.11%
Democratic Merrill Keiser Jr. 163,628 21.89%
Total votes 747,404 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates
  • Mike DeWine, incumbent U.S. Senator
  • William G. Pierce, engineer
  • David Smith, candidate for OH-02 in 2005

Campaign

Both candidates campaigned as conservative alternatives to DeWine, citing DeWine's support for legal abortion and his role as one of the Republican members of the Gang of 14 who compromised with Democrats in a dispute about judicial appointments.

Results

DeWine won 71.82% of the votes.[3]

General election

Candidates
  • Sherrod Brown (D), U.S. Representative
  • Mike DeWine (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
  • Richard Duncan (I), 2004 write-in candidate for president.[4]

Campaign

Because this race was targeted by Democrats, it made it all the more important to the GOP, who desired to retain Senate control. John McClelland, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party said, "It's vitally important to the Republican Party as a whole, so I think that's why you see the president coming to Ohio to support Mike DeWine. Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said, "Mike DeWine Senior is in for the fight of his life, make no mistake about it".[5]

On July 14, 2006, DeWine's campaign began airing TV commercials depicting a smoking World Trade Center. "The senator was notified... by a reporter at U.S. News & World Report that the image of the burning Twin Towers could not have depicted the actual event because the smoke was blowing the wrong way."[6][7] DeWine's campaign admitted that the video was actually a still photo of the World Trade Center with smoke digitally added.[6] He also was criticized for using an emotionally charged image to attack his challenger.[7]

Another of DeWine's ads suggested that opponent Sherrod Brown didn't pay his taxes for thirteen years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown produced a commercial citing these facts.[8] DeWine's ads were changed to state only that he had failed to pay his unemployment taxes until legal action was taken against him.

According to an article in the October 16, 2006, edition of The New York Times, top Republican party officials on the national level determined that DeWine would probably be defeated and were moving financial support from his race to other Republican senatorial candidates they felt were more likely to win.[9]

Debates

Fundraising

During the election cycle, DeWine raised $14.9 million and spent $15.5 million.[10] Brown raised $8.9 million and spent $10.8 million.[11]

Polling
Source Date Sherrod
Brown (D)		 Mike
DeWine (R)
Zogby October 31, 2005 40% 37%
Rasmussen December 2, 2005 41% 43%
Rasmussen January 7, 2006 40% 45%
Rasmussen February 18, 2006 37% 46%
Rasmussen March 31, 2006 42% 45%
Zogby/WSJ March 31, 2006 46% 37%
Rasmussen April 24, 2006 41% 43%
Rasmussen May 15, 2006 44% 41%
University of Cincinnati May 25, 2006 42% 52%
Survey USA June 13, 2006 48% 39%
Zogby/WSJ June 21, 2006 47% 34%
Rasmussen June 27, 2006 39% 46%
Columbus Dispatch July 23, 2006 45% 37%
Zogby/WSJ July 24, 2006 45% 37%
Rasmussen August 1, 2006 44% 42%
SurveyUSA August 5, 2006 49% 41%
Rasmussen August 26, 2006 45% 42%
Zogby/WSJ August 28, 2006 47% 39%
Gallup September 5, 2006 46% 40%
Zogby/WSJ September 11, 2006 45% 41%
Rasmussen September 13, 2006 47% 41%
Quinnipiac September 20, 2006 45% 44%
University of Cincinnati September 20, 2006 51% 47%
SurveyUSA September 21, 2006 52% 42%
Columbus Dispatch September 24, 2006 47% 42%
Zogby/WSJ September 28, 2006 45% 41%
University of Akron September 29, 2006 42% 42%
Mason-Dixon October 1, 2006 45% 43%
Reuters/Zogby October 5, 2006 41% 41%
Rasmussen October 5, 2006 49% 41%
SurveyUSA October 12, 2006 54% 40%
Rasmussen October 13, 2006 48% 42%
Quinnipiac October 17, 2006 53% 41%
University of Cincinnati October 17, 2006 52% 45%
CBS News/New York Times October 17, 2006 49% 35%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC October 24, 2006 48% 40%
Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg October 24, 2006 47% 39%
Rasmussen October 26, 2006 53% 41%
SurveyUSA October 26, 2006 57% 37%
Opinion Consultants October 22–30, 2006 51% 44%
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation October 31, 2006 54% 43%
Reuters/Zogby International November 2, 2006 56% 42%
Rasmussen November 4, 2006 54% 43%
Mason-Dixon/MSNBC-McClatchy November 5, 2006 50% 44%
Columbus Dispatch November 5, 2006 62% 38%
University of Cincinnati Ohio Poll November 6, 2006 56% 44%
SurveyUSA November 6, 2006 54% 42%

Results

Brown was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Ohio at 7:30. DeWine had the second worst performance of a Republican incumbent in 2006. Only Rick Santorum in neighboring Pennsylvania had a worse performance. While DeWine was able to win rural counties in western Ohio, Brown managed to win most eastern Ohio counties, especially in heavily populated areas. DeWine's narrow 2,000 vote victory in Hamilton County which is home to Cincinnati, came nowhere close to making a dent in Brown's lead. Brown would go on to be reelected to a second term in 2012. In 2018, Brown was re-elected to a third term and DeWine was concurrently elected Governor of Ohio, in a remarkable coincidence.

2006 United States Senate election in Ohio
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Sherrod Brown 2,257,369 56.16% +20.0
Republican Mike DeWine (incumbent) 1,761,037 43.82% -15.8
Independent Richard Duncan 830 0.02% n/a
Total votes 4,019,236 100.00% n/a
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

References
  1. "Democrats Score First Senate Win". CBS News. November 7, 2006.
  2. www.surveyusa.com.
  3. "www.sos.state.oh.us". Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved May 14, 2006.
  4. www.vote-smart.org.
  5. Collins, Michael (February 23, 2006). "Bush visit all politics this time". The Kentucky Post. Covington, Kentucky: E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006.
  6. Nation & World: DeWine blunder adds fuel to controversial September 11 ad - U.S. News & World Report Archived October 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Washington Post".
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Adam Nagourney, "In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets", The New York Times, October 16, 2006.
  10. "Sen. Mike DeWine: Campaign Finance/Money - Summary - Senator 2006 | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  11. "Rep. Sherrod Brown: Campaign Finance/Money - Summary - Representative 2006 | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
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