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  Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ricketts: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Nebraska |
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 Government |
The 2006 United States Senate election in Nebraska was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Pete Ricketts with 63.9% of the vote to Ricketts' 36.1%. Ricketts would later successfully run for Governor of Nebraska in 2014 and 2018 after and subsequently be appointed in January 2023 to Nebraska's other senate seat by Governor Jim Pillen, Ricketts' immediate successor.
As of 2024, this remains the last time Democrats won a statewide office in Nebraska.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Ben Nelson, incumbent U.S. Senator
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 92,501 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 92,501 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Pete Ricketts, former COO of TD Ameritrade
- Don Stenberg, former Attorney General of Nebraska and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2000
- David J. Kramer, Former 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 by county
Ricketts
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
Stenberg
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
| 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 TD Ameritrade
Campaign
The primary election was held 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, was 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 large margin.
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[3] | Solid D | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[4] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[5] | Likely D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[6] | Safe D | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Source | Date | Ben Nelson (D) |
Pete Ricketts (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Archived January 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine | November 23, 2005 | 52% | 29% |
| Rasmussen | April 26, 2006 | 54% | 36% |
| Rasmussen | May 13, 2006 | 54% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | July 17, 2006 | 57% | 31% |
| Rasmussen | August 17, 2006 | 55% | 32% |
| Rasmussen | September 26, 2006 | 55% | 32% |
| Rasmussen | October 19, 2006 | 54% | 34% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Nelson (incumbent) | 378,388 | 63.88% | +12.88% | |
| Republican | Pete Ricketts | 213,928 | 36.12% | -12.70% | |
| Total votes | 590,961 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Results by county
From CNN[8]
| County | Ben Nelson Democratic | Pete Ricketts Republican | Total votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | # | % | # | ||
| Adams | 67.18% | 10,222 | 32.82% | 4,993 | 15,215 |
| Antelope | 57.54% | 1,556 | 42.46% | 1,148 | 2,704 |
| Arthur | 40.60% | 95 | 59.40% | 139 | 234 |
| Banner | 47.85% | 156 | 52.15% | 170 | 326 |
| Blaine | 54.95% | 150 | 45.05% | 123 | 273 |
| Boone | 65.23% | 1,664 | 34.77% | 887 | 2,551 |
| Box Butte | 68.23% | 2,489 | 31.77% | 1,159 | 3,648 |
| Boyd | 63.53% | 622 | 36.47% | 357 | 979 |
| Brown | 51.09% | 706 | 48.91% | 676 | 1,382 |
| Buffalo | 56.41% | 8,367 | 43.59% | 6,466 | 14,833 |
| Burt | 69.49% | 2,034 | 30.51% | 893 | 2,927 |
| Butler | 73.10% | 2,527 | 26.90% | 930 | 3,457 |
| Cass | 62.85% | 5,819 | 37.15% | 3,440 | 9,259 |
| Cedar | 66.34% | 2,608 | 33.66% | 1,323 | 3,931 |
| Chase | 49.05% | 799 | 50.95% | 830 | 1,629 |
| Cherry | 53.17% | 1,436 | 46.83% | 1,265 | 2,701 |
| Cheyenne | 46.18% | 1,450 | 53.82% | 1,690 | 3,140 |
| Clay | 64.47% | 1,662 | 35.53% | 916 | 2,578 |
| Colfax | 69.44% | 1,947 | 30.56% | 857 | 2,804 |
| Cuming | 63.45% | 1,953 | 36.55% | 1,125 | 3,078 |
| Custer | 58.88% | 2,880 | 41.12% | 2,011 | 4,891 |
| Dakota | 69.32% | 3,260 | 30.68% | 1,443 | 4,703 |
| Dawes | 57.42% | 1,706 | 42.58% | 1,265 | 2,971 |
| Dawson | 58.66% | 3,910 | 41.34% | 2,755 | 6,665 |
| Deuel | 48.70% | 392 | 51.30% | 413 | 805 |
| Dixon | 66.54% | 1,589 | 33.46% | 799 | 2,388 |
| Dodge | 66.70% | 7,950 | 33.30% | 3,969 | 11,919 |
| Douglas | 65.16% | 92,133 | 34.84% | 49,257 | 141,390 |
| Dundy | 61.16% | 570 | 38.84% | 362 | 932 |
| Fillmore | 71.49% | 1,780 | 28.51% | 710 | 2,490 |
| Franklin | 64.88% | 946 | 35.12% | 512 | 1,458 |
| Frontier | 65.34% | 820 | 34.66% | 435 | 1,255 |
| Furnas | 65.55% | 1,347 | 34.45% | 708 | 2,055 |
| Gage | 72.98% | 6,451 | 27.02% | 2,388 | 8,839 |
| Garden | 48.45% | 500 | 51.55% | 532 | 1,032 |
| Garfield | 59.09% | 543 | 40.91% | 376 | 919 |
| Gosper | 62.89% | 622 | 37.11% | 367 | 989 |
| Grant | 40.85% | 134 | 59.15% | 194 | 328 |
| Greeley | 75.99% | 807 | 24.01% | 255 | 1,062 |
| Hall | 61.52% | 10,371 | 38.48% | 6,487 | 16,858 |
| Hamilton | 59.36% | 2,660 | 40.64% | 1,821 | 4,481 |
| Harlan | 64.63% | 1,124 | 35.37% | 615 | 1,739 |
| Hayes | 57.09% | 282 | 42.91% | 212 | 494 |
| Hitchcock | 68.10% | 824 | 31.90% | 386 | 1,210 |
| Holt | 51.44% | 2,288 | 48.56% | 2,160 | 4,448 |
| Hooker | 56.23% | 185 | 43.77% | 144 | 329 |
| Howard | 69.16% | 1,803 | 30.84% | 804 | 2,607 |
| Jefferson | 71.41% | 2,265 | 28.59% | 907 | 3,172 |
| Johnson | 75.18% | 1,369 | 24.82% | 452 | 1,821 |
| Kearney | 58.76% | 1,614 | 41.24% | 1,133 | 2,747 |
| Keith | 48.79% | 1,588 | 51.21% | 1,667 | 3,255 |
| Keya Paha | 54.50% | 303 | 45.50% | 253 | 556 |
| Kimball | 46.42% | 753 | 53.58% | 869 | 1,622 |
| Knox | 63.65% | 2,054 | 36.35% | 1,173 | 3,227 |
| Lancaster | 70.07% | 60,309 | 29.93% | 25,762 | 86,071 |
| Lincoln | 61.23% | 7,664 | 38.77% | 4,852 | 12,516 |
| Logan | 52.51% | 199 | 47.49% | 180 | 379 |
| Loup | 64.36% | 242 | 35.64% | 134 | 376 |
| Madison | 54.61% | 5,730 | 45.39% | 4,762 | 10,492 |
| McPherson | 44.83% | 117 | 55.17% | 144 | 261 |
| Merrick | 63.24% | 1,923 | 36.76% | 1,118 | 3,041 |
| Morrill | 48.48% | 912 | 51.52% | 969 | 1,881 |
| Nance | 71.70% | 1,206 | 28.30% | 476 | 1,682 |
| Nemaha | 61.79% | 1,745 | 38.21% | 1,079 | 2,824 |
| Nuckolls | 66.98% | 1,375 | 33.02% | 678 | 2,053 |
| Otoe | 62.51% | 3,550 | 37.49% | 2,129 | 5,679 |
| Pawnee | 67.39% | 835 | 32.61% | 404 | 1,239 |
| Perkins | 52.97% | 669 | 47.03% | 594 | 1,263 |
| Phelps | 57.90% | 2,269 | 42.10% | 1,650 | 3,919 |
| Pierce | 55.99% | 1,378 | 44.01% | 1,083 | 2,461 |
| Platte | 62.97% | 6,664 | 37.03% | 3,919 | 10,583 |
| Polk | 62.92% | 1,432 | 37.08% | 844 | 2,276 |
| Red Willow | 70.60% | 3,016 | 29.40% | 1,256 | 4,272 |
| Richardson | 64.63% | 2,226 | 35.37% | 1,218 | 3,444 |
| Rock | 54.99% | 413 | 45.01% | 338 | 751 |
| Saline | 78.78% | 3,615 | 21.22% | 974 | 4,589 |
| Sarpy | 59.27% | 24,640 | 40.73% | 16,935 | 41,575 |
| Saunders | 67.62% | 5,393 | 32.38% | 2,582 | 7,975 |
| Scotts Bluff | 51.98% | 5,834 | 48.02% | 5,389 | 11,223 |
| Seward | 67.39% | 3,930 | 32.61% | 1,902 | 5,832 |
| Sheridan | 43.55% | 820 | 56.45% | 1,063 | 1,883 |
| Sherman | 70.99% | 1,018 | 29.01% | 416 | 1,434 |
| Sioux | 39.85% | 216 | 60.15% | 326 | 542 |
| Stanton | 53.92% | 1,067 | 46.08% | 912 | 1,979 |
| Thayer | 70.16% | 1,627 | 29.84% | 692 | 2,319 |
| Thomas | 53.12% | 179 | 46.88% | 158 | 337 |
| Thurston | 73.89% | 1,296 | 26.11% | 458 | 1,754 |
| Valley | 61.90% | 1,290 | 38.10% | 794 | 2,084 |
| Washington | 57.95% | 4,394 | 42.05% | 3,189 | 7,583 |
| Wayne | 63.90% | 1,963 | 36.10% | 1,109 | 3,072 |
| Webster | 67.36% | 1,164 | 32.64% | 564 | 1,728 |
| Wheeler | 65.72% | 255 | 34.28% | 133 | 388 |
| York | 57.50% | 3,118 | 42.50% | 2,305 | 5,423 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Burt (largest village: Tekamah)
- Antelope (largest city: Neligh)
- Box Butte (largest city: Alliance)
- Boyd (largest city: Spencer)
- Brown (largest city: Ainsworth)
- Buffalo (largest city: Kearney)
- Butler (largest city: David City)
- Cherry (largest city: Valentine)
- Clay (largest city: Sutton)
- Colfax (largest city: Schuyler)
- Cuming (largest city: West Point)
- Custer (largest city: Broken Bow)
- Dawes (largest city: Chadron)
- Dawson (largest city: Lexington)
- Dundy (largest city: Benkelman)
- Frontier (largest city: Curtis)
- Furnas (largest city: Cambridge)
- Garfield (largest city: Burwell)
- Gosper (largest city: Elwood)
- Grant (largest city: Hyannis)
- Hamilton (largest city: Aurora)
- Harlan (largest city: Alma)
- Hayes (largest city: Palisade)
- Hitchcock (largest city: Culbertson)
- Holt (largest city: O'Neill)
- Hooker (largest city: Mullen)
- Kearney (largest city: Minden)
- Keya Paha (largest city: Springview)
- Knox (largest city: Creighton)
- Logan (largest city: Stapleton)
- Loup (largest city: Taylor)
- Madison (largest city: Norfolk)
- Merrick (largest city: Central City)
- Nemaha (largest city: Auburn)
- Nance (largest city: Fullerton)
- Boone (largest city: Albion)
- Perkins (largest city: Grant)
- Phelps (largest city: Holdrege)
- Pierce (largest city: Pierce)
- Platte (largest city: Columbus)
- Polk (largest city: Stromsburg)
- Richardson (largest city: Falls City)
- Rock (largest city: Bassett)
- Sarpy (largest city: Bellevue)
- Scotts Bluff (largest city: Scottsbluff)
- Sherman (largest city: Gordon)
- Stanton (largest city: Stanton)
- Thayer (largest city: Hebron)
- Thomas (largest city: Thedford)
- Valley (largest city: Ord)
- Washington (largest city: Blair)
- Nuckolls (largest city: Superior)
- Franklin (largest city: Franklin)
- Wheeler (largest city: Bartlett)
- York (largest city: York)
See also
References
- ↑ "U.S. Senate - Nebraska 2006 Primary Election Official Results". www.sos.ne.gov. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ↑ "U.S. Senate - Nebraska 2006 Primary Election Official Results". www.sos.ne.gov. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ↑ "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. November 6, 2006. 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.
- ↑ "2006 Election Statistics". clerk.house.gov.
- ↑ "U.S. SENATE / NEBRASKA / COUNTY RESULTS". CNN. Archived from the original on December 21, 2006.
External links
- Ben Nelson for U.S. Senate (Not Active)
- Pete Ricketts for U.S. Senate (Inactive)
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