United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2006

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2006

November 7, 2006

Nominee Ben Nelson Pete Ricketts Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 378,388 213,928 Percentage 63.9% 36.1%

County results

U.S. senator before election Ben Nelson Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ben Nelson Democratic

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

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ben Nelson, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson (inc.)	92,501	100.00
Total votes			92,501	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Pete Ricketts, former COO of Ameritrade
• Don Stenberg, former Attorney General of Nebraska and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000
• David J. Kramer, Chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party

Campaign

Since Ricketts was a millionaire, he could finance his own campaign. His opponents could not raise enough money to keep up. Kramer raised $330,000 and Stenberg raised $246,000 in 2005.

Results

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Ricketts	129,643	48.14
	Republican	Don Stenberg	96,496	35.83
	Republican	David J. Kramer	43,185	16.03
Total votes			269,324	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Ben Nelson (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• Pete Ricketts (R), former COO of Ameritrade

Campaign

The primary election was held on May 9, 2006. Pete Ricketts won the Republican nomination with 48% of the vote. Ben Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Nelson was elected in 2000 by a margin of 51% to 49% after serving as the state's governor for two terms. Nelson, considered the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, is the lone Democrat in Nebraska's Congressional delegation. This election was one of the most expensive in Nebraska history. In 2005, Ben Nelson raised $3.9 million for his re-election campaign. Pete Ricketts contributed $14.35 million of his own money to his campaign; he raised an additional $485,000 in contributions. The race also attracted national attention and generated several high-level campaign appearances. President George W. Bush appeared at a rally for Ricketts on November 5, 2006, in Grand Island, while then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared at a fundraiser for Nelson and other Nebraska Democrats on May 5, 2006 in Omaha. However, he won re-election by a wide margin.

Polling

Source	Date	Nelson (D)	Ricketts (R)
Rasmussen	October 19, 2006	54%	34%
Rasmussen	September 26, 2006	55%	32%
Rasmussen	August 17, 2006	55%	32%
Rasmussen	July 17, 2006	57%	31%
Rasmussen	May 13, 2006	54%	35%
Rasmussen	April 26, 2006	54%	36%
Rasmussen	November 23, 2005	52%	29%

Results

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ben Nelson (incumbent)	378,388	63.88%	+12.88%
	Republican	Pete Ricketts	213,928	36.12%	-12.70%
Majority			164,460	27.77%	+25.58%
Turnout			590,961
	Democratic hold		Swing

External links

• Ben Nelson for U.S. Senate(Not Active)
• Pete Ricketts for U.S. Senate (Inactive)

Preceded by 2002 Chuck Hagel

Nebraska U.S. Senate elections 2006

Succeeded by 2008