2006 Minnesota's 6th congressional district election

2006 Minnesota's 6th congressional district election
← 2004
November 7, 2006
2008 →
 
Nominee Michele Bachmann Patty Wetterling John Binkowski
Party Republican Democratic Independence
Popular vote 151,248 127,144 23,557
Percentage 50.1% 42.1% 7.8%
U.S. Representative before election

Mark Kennedy
Republican

 Elected U.S. Representative

Michele Bachmann
Republican

The 2006 Minnesota's 6th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives. State senator Michele Bachmann of the Republican Party defeated child safety advocate Patty Wetterling of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and project co-ordinator John Binkowski of the Independence Party.

Republican convention

Received nomination

Withdrew

Campaign

During the Republican convention, Bachmann and Krinkie both portrayed themselves as conservatives, while Knoblach emphasised his supposed electability.

Democratic convention

Received nomination

Withdrew

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Wetterling had previously run for the seat in 2004 against Mark Kennedy, and was widely regarded to have had a strong showing that year. Bachmann, who was considered a staunch conservative, had strong support from the conservative wing of the Republican Party. The resignation of Florida Republican Mark Foley after allegations that he sent sexually suggestive messages to underage congressional pages boosted Wetterling's campaign, as it highlighted an issue that she was very visible on. Wetterling also ran numerous ads about the scandal, claiming that the allegations proved that Republicans were not fit to control the house. Bachmann proceeded to accuse Wetterling of politicising child abuse, a claim that was criticised by Clara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of Mother Jones. The race broke Minnesota records for spending on a House of Representatives election, with a total of $4.6 million being spent.

Debates

2006 Minnesota's 6th congressional district general election debates
 No.Date & timeHostModeratorLinkParticipants
Key:
 P  Participant    A  Absent    N  Non-invitee  
Michele Bachmann Patty Wetterling John Binkowski
  1 
September 26, 2006
St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce
 P A P
  2 
October 27, 2006
 P P P
  3 
November 1, 2006
Kerri Miller
 P P P

Endorsements

Michele Bachmann (R)

Executive officials

State officials

Patty Wetterling (DFL)

Local officials

Organizations

Polling

Source Date Wetterling (D) Bachmann (R) Binkowski (I)
Star Tribune Minnesota Poll October 21, 2006 48% 40% 4%
Reuters/Zogby October 4, 2006 43% 46%
SurveyUSA September, 2006 41% 50% 5%

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report Tossup November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Tossup November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball Tilt R November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics Lean R November 7, 2006
CQ Politics Tossup November 7, 2006

Results

2006 Minnesota's 6th congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Bachmann 151,248 50.05
Democratic (DFL) Patty Wetterling 127,144 42.07
Independence John Binkowski 23,557 7.80
Independent Write-ins 239 0.08
Total votes 302,188 100.00

By county

County Michelle Bachmann
Republican		 Patty Wetterling
DFL		 John Binkowski
Independence		 Various candidates
Other parties		 Margin Total
# % # % # % # % # %
Anoka (part) 43,865 49.5% 37,750 42.6% 6,873 7.8% 71 0.1% 6,115 6.9% 88,559
Benton 7,152 50.4% 5,710 40.2% 1,324 9.3% 5 0.1% 1,442 10.2% 14,191
Hennepin (part) 216 54.3% 154 38.7% 28 7.0% 0 0.0% 62 15.6% 398
Sherburne 17,104 53.8% 12,269 38.6% 2,393 7.5% 25 0.1% 4,835 17.2% 31,791
Stearns (part) 25,596 49.7% 21,650 42.0% 4,191 8.1% 51 0.1% 3,946 7.7% 51,488
Washington (part) 31,649 46.2% 31,553 46.1% 5,247 7.7% 53 0.1% 96 0.1% 68,502
Wright 25,664 54.4% 18,059 38.3% 3,400 7.2% 34 0.1% 7,605 16.1% 47,157
Totals151,24650.1%127,14542.1%23,4567.8%2390.1%24,1018.0%302,086

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Horrigan, Marie (October 2, 2006). "Scandal Raises Profile of Wetterling's Top Issue In Minn. 6". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pugmire, Tim (May 6, 2006). "Bachmann wins GOP endorsement for U.S. House in 6th District". MPR News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Scheck, Tom (June 14, 2005). "Tinklenberg enters 6th District congressional race". MPR News. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Patty Wetterling: "Jacob has been found and our hearts are broken," KARE reports". Northland News Center. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 McCallum, Laura (May 14, 2006). "Wetterling wins 6th District DFL endorsement". MPR News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  6. ↑ Croman, John (October 10, 2006). "Are third party candidates relevant?". KARE. Retrieved May 13, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ Baxter, Charles (September 24, 2006). "A Campaign in Crisis Mode". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Democrat Candidate Flays Congress GOP". CBS News. Associated Press. October 7, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ Jeffery, Clara (October 8, 2006). "Patty Wetterling: A Voice of Conscience on Foley Scandal and Child Abuse (And Why You Should Call Power Line's Scott Johnson)". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  10. ↑ Black, Eric (November 23, 2007). "Bachmann wins most-expensive race". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  11. ↑ Pugmire, Tim (November 8, 2006). "Bachmann retains 6th District seat for GOP". The Current. KCMP. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ Scheck, Tom (September 27, 2006). "The Daily Digest: 9-27-06". MPR News. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Black, Eric (September 26, 2006). "The case of the vanishing no-show". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ Blanchard, Courtney (October 30, 2006). "Candidates debate in front of cameras". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  15. ↑ Collins, Bob (November 2, 2006). "God not choosing sides in 6th, Bachmann says". MPR News. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Bush campaigns for Bachmann". MPR News. August 22, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 Vlahos, Kelly Beaucar (July 31, 2006). "Minnesota House Race Pits Two Women Whose Politics Couldn't Be More Different". Fox News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  18. ↑ Scheck, Tom (September 25, 2006). "The League of Conservation Voters endorses Ramstad and Wetterling". MPR News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  19. ↑ Scheck, Tom (October 18, 2006). "SEIU running radio ads on behalf of Wetterling". MPR News. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  20. ↑ Star Tribune Minnesota Poll
  21. ↑ Reuters/Zogby
  22. ↑ SurveyUSA
  23. ↑ "2006 Competitive House Race Chart" (PDF). House: Race Ratings. Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  24. ↑ "2006 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  25. ↑ "2006 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Balance of Power Scorecard: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Minnesota Secretary of State, Election Results for 2006 General Election, 6th Congressional District". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved March 28, 2021.