Florida U.S. House election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Florida U.S. House elections took place on November 7, 2006. Elections were held in Florida's 1st through 25th congressional district
s.
Florida is known to be a moderate-to-conservative state, with more liberals residing in South Florida, and moderates and conservatives dominating both the northern and central regions of Florida, as well as a strong Republican base in Cuban-American portions of Miami. A former Florida Secretary of State made famous in the 2000 presidential election challenged incumbent Senator Bill Nelson
, and ended up losing to Nelson. Democrats set their sights on two districts in the Sarasota and Tampa
area (the open seats of both Harris and the retiring Mike Bilirakis, respectively), and also on a South Florida district held by one of the Sunshine State's longest-serving congressmen. The primary was held on September 5, 2006. The popularity of outgoing Governor Jeb Bush
aided their gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Charlie Crist
and helped Republicans win downballot, including Crist's newly elected successor at the Attorney General position, former Rep. Bill McCollum
.
The following Congressmen went unopposed in the 2006 election and thus their election is not reported below:
Three-term incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Miller
had an easy time seeking re-election in this staunchly conservative district based in the Florida Panhandle
. Miller, who was initially elected in a special election in 2001 to replace Joe Scarborough
, took advantage of this district’s large military population based around the Naval Air Station Pensacola
with his membership on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the naturally conservative tendencies of western Florida to easily defeat Democratic challenger Joe Roberts.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Ander Crenshaw
, a fixture in Florida politics since the 1970’s, has represented this North Florida
and Jacksonville-based district since 2001. Given the district’s strong Republican lean, Crenshaw faced no real challenge in Democratic nominee Robert Harms and easily won another term.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Ginny Brown-Waite
was able to take advantage of a Republican wave and a gerrymander in her favor to defeat Democratic Congresswoman Karen Thurman
to win a first term in 2002. Seeking a third term, Brown-Waite faced challenger John Russell, whom he handily beat, albeit by a thinner margin than she is used to in this fairly conservative district.
Encompassing North Central Florida
, this conservative district is represented by nine-term incumbent Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns
. Stearns, seeking a tenth term, faced off against Democratic candidate David Bruderly. Though Stearns defeated Bruderly by a wide margin, it was not the margin of victory that Stearns is used to in this gerrymandered district.
Incumbent Republican Congressman John Mica
, initially elected in 1992, sought his eighth term in this conservative district that stretches along the coast of Florida from St. Augustine
to Daytona Beach and peaks into the Orlando Metropolitan Area. Mica defeated Democratic candidate John Chagnon in a landslide.
Republican Congressman Ric Keller
, seeking a fourth term in this moderately conservative, Central Florida
-based district, faced off against businessman Charlie Stuart, a moderate Democrat. Though Keller held onto his seat in the midst of a Democratic wave that was sweeping the country, he won by only a few points.
After serving twelve terms in the United States Congress
, Republican incumbent Congressman Michael Bilirakis
declined to run for re-election. His son, Gus Bilirakis
, a member of the Florida House of Representatives
emerged as the Republican nominee and squared off against Phyllis Busansky
, the Democratic nominee and a former Hillsborough County
Commissioner. The district has a tilt towards electing Republicans, so Busansky’s campaign was not given much of a chance at first. As the campaign progressed, however, it received national attention from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
. Though Bilirakis defeated Busansky by a ten point margin, Busansky’s performance was a large improvement over past years and outperformed her expected performance in the polls.
In this district, which is the only congressional district in the state to lie exclusively in one county, has been represented by incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Young
for several decades. A former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
, Young has been overwhelmingly re-elected year after year. In 2006, despite the moderate nature of his district and the acidic environment for Republicans nationwide, Congressman Young swamped Democratic nominee Samm Simpson.
Rather than seek a sixth term in this liberal district based in Tampa
, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Davis opted to run for Governor
, creating an open seat. Hillsborough County
Commissioner Kathy Castor
, the daughter of renowned Florida politician Betty Castor
, ran for the seat and won the Democratic nomination, defeating Florida State Senate Minority Leader Les Miller. She faced Republican candidate Eddie Adams, an architect, in the general election, which she won by a convincing margin.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Adam Putnam
, a member of the Republican leadership in the House
, sought and easily won a fourth term in Congress, defeating independent candidates Joe Viscusi and Ed Bowlin.
Two-term incumbent Republican Congressman Katherine Harris
opted to run for Senate rather than seek a third term, creating an open seat. The 13th district, based in Southwest Florida
, is fairly conservative, but a competitive race emerged between the Republican nominee, car dealership owner Vern Buchanan
, and the Democratic nominee, banking executive Christine Jennings
. Though Buchanan appeared to be victorious on election day by a 350 vote margin, Jennings requested a recount. Though the recount did not change the outcome of the race, Jennings filed additional complaints due to the fact that 13% of Sarasota County residents did not vote in the Congressional election, an unusually high number and the fact that the touch-screen machines did not provide a paper trail.
Believing the matter to be unsettled, Jennings sued to challenge the results of the election in court, noting the "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." A Florida circuit judge rejected her lawsuit in December 2006, ruling that her allegations of lost votes in Sarasota County were "conjecture." Jennings met further failure in June 2007, when a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong.
Though Jennings fought the results further by appealing directly to the United States House of Representatives
, this action, too, caused her to walk away empty-handed. After a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election, the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida’s 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office
(GAO).
In February of 2008, the committee and the House accepted the findings of the GAO that no machine error affected the outcome of the election, going a step further to pass HR 989, which affirmed the findings of the committee, accepted the results of the 2006 race and formally dismissed Jennings' challenge of the election's results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on her 2008 rematch against Buchanan.
After winning his first Congressional election in 2004 to replace Porter Goss, incumbent Republican Congressman Connie Mack IV
sought a second term in 2006. Mack's district, based in the Gulf Coast
region of Florida, is solidly conservative and overwhelmingly gave the Congressman a second term over Democratic candidate Robert Neeld.
In this Space Coast
-based district, incumbent Republican Congressman Dave Weldon
sought election to a seventh term in Congress. This district, though undoubtedly conservative, gave Weldon a smaller margin of victory over Democratic nominee Robert Bowman in 2006 than in previous years, likely due to the anti-Republican sentiment nationwide.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Foley
was considered to be a shoo-in for re-election until the House page scandal
involving Foley became public knowledge. The Congressman resigned on September 29, 2006, thus cancelling his re-election bid. The Republican Party of Florida
selected Florida State Representative
Joe Negron
to replace Foley, though Foley's name remained on the ballot. Though Negron launched a successful campaign to urge voters to "Punch Foley for Joe!", indicating that voters should "punch" Foley's name on the ballot to vote for Negron, he was ultimately unsuccessful on election day and fell to Democratic nominee and businessman Tim Mahoney
.
This majority African-American district based in southern Broward County and eastern Miami-Dade County has a very strong Democratic tilt and has been represented by Congressman Kendrick Meek
since his initial election in 2002 and was previously represented by Meek's mother, Carrie Meek, for ten years. Meek was overwhelmingly elected to a third term with no Republican or independent challenger.
Incumbent Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
, a respected member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, represents a marginally conservative district that encompasses much of Miami, the southern suburbs of Miami, and the entire Florida Keys
. Seeking a tenth term in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen easily defeated Democratic nominee Dave Patlak in the general election.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart
decided to run for an eighth term in Congress in this district composed of the western suburbs of Miami. Conservative due to the large presence of Cuban-Americans here, this district is a Hispanic-American majority district and has regularly sent Congressman Diaz-Balart back to Washington with solid victories. 2006 proved to be no different, and Diaz-Balart defeated Frank Gonzalez, though by a thinner margin than is usually achieved in this district.
This district, which stretches from northern Broward County to northern Palm Beach County, marginally leads towards the Democratic side, but incumbent Republican Congressman Clay Shaw
's pragmatic and moderate profile in Congress enabled him to continually be re-elected. This year, however, Shaw faced difficulty in his bid for a fourteenth term. Florida State Senator Ron Klein
, previously the Democratic leader in the Senate, ultimately defeated Shaw in the general election by a thin three-point margin.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Feeney
, initially elected in 2002 and re-elected unopposed in 2004 in this hand-crafted, gerrymandered district, hardly faced a challenge from Democratic candidate Clint Curtis
. Feeney, however, was marred by allegations of corruption brought about by Curtis, a computer programmer who claimed that Feeney asked Curtis to create a software to "steal" votes using touch-screen voting machines. Feeney treated Curtis like a gadfly, sending out mailers featuring Curtis with a tin-foil hat
and refusing to debate him. Polling, however, indicated that the race was tight, with a Zogby
poll showing Feeney at a 45% level of support and Curtis attaining 43%. Ultimately, though, on election day, Feeney swamped Curtis, winning all four counties in the district. The surprisingly close race, however, indicated that Feeney could be brought down with a serious challenger.
This district, with a Hispanic-American majority and based in South Florida, has the tendency to support Republican candidates. Incumbent Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart
has represented the district since its creation in 2003 and had not faced a close call so far in his career. In 2006, however, though Diaz-Balart defeated Democratic opponent Michael Calderin by a solid margin, it was a thinner margin than usual.
Congressional district
A congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s.
Florida is known to be a moderate-to-conservative state, with more liberals residing in South Florida, and moderates and conservatives dominating both the northern and central regions of Florida, as well as a strong Republican base in Cuban-American portions of Miami. A former Florida Secretary of State made famous in the 2000 presidential election challenged incumbent Senator Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
, and ended up losing to Nelson. Democrats set their sights on two districts in the Sarasota and Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
area (the open seats of both Harris and the retiring Mike Bilirakis, respectively), and also on a South Florida district held by one of the Sunshine State's longest-serving congressmen. The primary was held on September 5, 2006. The popularity of outgoing Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
aided their gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
and helped Republicans win downballot, including Crist's newly elected successor at the Attorney General position, former Rep. Bill McCollum
Bill McCollum
Ira William "Bill" McCollum, Jr. is a former Florida Attorney General. A Republican, he was Florida's 36th attorney general, taking office in 2007...
.
The following Congressmen went unopposed in the 2006 election and thus their election is not reported below:
- Allen BoydAllen BoydFred Allen Boyd Jr. is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1997 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for a lobbying firm, the Twenty-First Century Group.-Early life, education and career:...
(D-FL-02Florida's 2nd congressional districtFlorida's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district consists of the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle along with much of the Big Bend region along the Emerald Coast, and is anchored in the state capital of Tallahassee and includes Panama...
) - Corrine BrownCorrine BrownCorrine Brown is an U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes parts of Duval, Clay, Putnam, Alachua, Volusia, Marion, Lake, Seminole, and Orange Counties....
(D-FL-03Florida's 3rd congressional districtFlorida's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district includes portions of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, and Volusia counties....
) - Robert WexlerRobert WexlerRobert Wexler is the president of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.Wexler was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing , from 1997 until his resignation on January 3, 2010.-Early life:Wexler was born in Queens, New York to Sonny and...
(D-FL-19Florida's 19th congressional districtFlorida's 19th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. Based in South Florida, the district includes parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties including the cities of Coral Springs, Margate, and Greenacres....
) - Debbie Wasserman SchultzDebbie Wasserman SchultzDebbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
(D-FL-20Florida's 20th congressional districtFlorida's 20th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. Based in South Florida, the district takes in parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The district is based in Fort Lauderdale and includes many of its suburbs including Davie...
) - Alcee HastingsAlcee HastingsAlcee Lamar Hastings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
(D-FL-23Florida's 23rd congressional districtFlorida's 23rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. Based in South Florida, the district is highly racially gerrymandered and consists of the heavily African American parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties...
)
Overview
| United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats | +/– | |
| Republican | 2,182,833 | 56.67% | 14 | -2 | |
| Democratic | 1,599,968 | 41.54% | 9 | +2 | |
| Independents | 69,141 | 1.79% | 0 | — | |
| Totals | 3,851,942 | 100.00% | 25 | — | |
District 1
Three-term incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Miller
Jeff Miller
Jefferson B. "Jeff" Miller is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, and Washington Counties....
had an easy time seeking re-election in this staunchly conservative district based in the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
. Miller, who was initially elected in a special election in 2001 to replace Joe Scarborough
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough is an American cable news and talk radio host, lawyer, author, and former politician. He is currently the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, and previously hosted Scarborough Country on the same channel...
, took advantage of this district’s large military population based around the Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola , "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits...
with his membership on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the naturally conservative tendencies of western Florida to easily defeat Democratic challenger Joe Roberts.
District 4
Incumbent Republican Congressman Ander Crenshaw
Ander Crenshaw
Ander Crenshaw is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
, a fixture in Florida politics since the 1970’s, has represented this North Florida
North Florida
North Florida refers to the northernmost part of the U.S. state of Florida, including some counties that border the state of Georgia. It also borders the Big Bend with Madison County and Taylor County to the east and the Central Florida region to its south....
and Jacksonville-based district since 2001. Given the district’s strong Republican lean, Crenshaw faced no real challenge in Democratic nominee Robert Harms and easily won another term.
District 5
Incumbent Republican Congressman Ginny Brown-Waite
Ginny Brown-Waite
Virginia "Ginny" Brown-Waite is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party....
was able to take advantage of a Republican wave and a gerrymander in her favor to defeat Democratic Congresswoman Karen Thurman
Karen Thurman
Karen L. Thurman is a former U.S. Representative from Florida. She is a Democrat.She was born on January 12, 1951 in Rapid City, South Dakota, but has spent most of her life in Florida. She received her Associate's Degree from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville in 1970 and her Bachelor's...
to win a first term in 2002. Seeking a third term, Brown-Waite faced challenger John Russell, whom he handily beat, albeit by a thinner margin than she is used to in this fairly conservative district.
District 6
Encompassing North Central Florida
North Central Florida
North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area , Bradford, Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee and Union counties...
, this conservative district is represented by nine-term incumbent Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns
Cliff Stearns
Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:According to his official biography, Stearns was born in Washington, D.C...
. Stearns, seeking a tenth term, faced off against Democratic candidate David Bruderly. Though Stearns defeated Bruderly by a wide margin, it was not the margin of victory that Stearns is used to in this gerrymandered district.
District 7
Incumbent Republican Congressman John Mica
John Mica
John L. Mica is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, starting January 3, 2011....
, initially elected in 1992, sought his eighth term in this conservative district that stretches along the coast of Florida from St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
to Daytona Beach and peaks into the Orlando Metropolitan Area. Mica defeated Democratic candidate John Chagnon in a landslide.
District 8
Republican Congressman Ric Keller
Ric Keller
Richard Anthony "Ric" Keller is an American politician, and was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing .Keller was defeated in his bid for a fifth term by Democrat Alan Grayson....
, seeking a fourth term in this moderately conservative, Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
-based district, faced off against businessman Charlie Stuart, a moderate Democrat. Though Keller held onto his seat in the midst of a Democratic wave that was sweeping the country, he won by only a few points.
District 9
After serving twelve terms in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, Republican incumbent Congressman Michael Bilirakis
Michael Bilirakis
Michael Bilirakis , American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983 until 2007, representing the 9th District of Florida....
declined to run for re-election. His son, Gus Bilirakis
Gus Bilirakis
Gus Michael Bilirakis is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives.- Early life, education and career :...
, a member of the Florida House of Representatives
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
emerged as the Republican nominee and squared off against Phyllis Busansky
Phyllis Busansky
Phyllis Busansky was the Democratic Commissioner of Hillsborough County, Florida from 1989 to 1997. In 1995 she was named a "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine, She ran in Florida's 9th congressional district election, 2006, unsuccessfully...
, the Democratic nominee and a former Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, Florida
As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
Commissioner. The district has a tilt towards electing Republicans, so Busansky’s campaign was not given much of a chance at first. As the campaign progressed, however, it received national attention from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
. Though Bilirakis defeated Busansky by a ten point margin, Busansky’s performance was a large improvement over past years and outperformed her expected performance in the polls.
District 10
In this district, which is the only congressional district in the state to lie exclusively in one county, has been represented by incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Young
Bill Young
Charles William "Bill" Young is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1971. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is currently the longest-serving Republican member of Congress...
for several decades. A former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
United States House Committee on Appropriations
The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
, Young has been overwhelmingly re-elected year after year. In 2006, despite the moderate nature of his district and the acidic environment for Republicans nationwide, Congressman Young swamped Democratic nominee Samm Simpson.
District 11
Rather than seek a sixth term in this liberal district based in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Davis opted to run for Governor
Florida gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for re-election. Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General, won the election for Governor of Florida.-Democrats:...
, creating an open seat. Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, Florida
As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
Commissioner Kathy Castor
Kathy Castor
Kathy Castor is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district covers most of the city of Tampa, most of south St...
, the daughter of renowned Florida politician Betty Castor
Betty Castor
Betty Castor , neeElizabeth Bowe, is an American educator and former politician and elected officeholder. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and the Florida Education Commissioner, and she later served as the President of the University of South Florida, and President of the National Board...
, ran for the seat and won the Democratic nomination, defeating Florida State Senate Minority Leader Les Miller. She faced Republican candidate Eddie Adams, an architect, in the general election, which she won by a convincing margin.
District 12
Incumbent Republican Congressman Adam Putnam
Adam Putnam
Adam H. Putnam is the current Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2001 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
, a member of the Republican leadership in the House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, sought and easily won a fourth term in Congress, defeating independent candidates Joe Viscusi and Ed Bowlin.
District 13
Two-term incumbent Republican Congressman Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris is an American Republican politician, former Secretary of State of Florida, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Harris won the 2002 election to represent Florida's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She held that post...
opted to run for Senate rather than seek a third term, creating an open seat. The 13th district, based in Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
, is fairly conservative, but a competitive race emerged between the Republican nominee, car dealership owner Vern Buchanan
Vern Buchanan
Vernon G. "Vern" Buchanan is the Congressman for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:...
, and the Democratic nominee, banking executive Christine Jennings
Christine Jennings
Christine Jennings is a self-made banker and businessperson, and a Democratic politician in Florida.In 2006, Jennings was the Democratic nominee for the United States Congress to represent Florida's 13th congressional district. The seat was left open when incumbent Katherine Harris ran for the U.S...
. Though Buchanan appeared to be victorious on election day by a 350 vote margin, Jennings requested a recount. Though the recount did not change the outcome of the race, Jennings filed additional complaints due to the fact that 13% of Sarasota County residents did not vote in the Congressional election, an unusually high number and the fact that the touch-screen machines did not provide a paper trail.
Believing the matter to be unsettled, Jennings sued to challenge the results of the election in court, noting the "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." A Florida circuit judge rejected her lawsuit in December 2006, ruling that her allegations of lost votes in Sarasota County were "conjecture." Jennings met further failure in June 2007, when a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong.
Though Jennings fought the results further by appealing directly to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, this action, too, caused her to walk away empty-handed. After a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election, the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida’s 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
(GAO).
In February of 2008, the committee and the House accepted the findings of the GAO that no machine error affected the outcome of the election, going a step further to pass HR 989, which affirmed the findings of the committee, accepted the results of the 2006 race and formally dismissed Jennings' challenge of the election's results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on her 2008 rematch against Buchanan.
District 14
After winning his first Congressional election in 2004 to replace Porter Goss, incumbent Republican Congressman Connie Mack IV
Connie Mack IV
Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV popularly known as Connie Mack IV is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes Fort Myers and Naples....
sought a second term in 2006. Mack's district, based in the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
region of Florida, is solidly conservative and overwhelmingly gave the Congressman a second term over Democratic candidate Robert Neeld.
District 15
In this Space Coast
Space Coast
The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around Kennedy Space Center , where NASA launched space shuttles until the last one on July 8th, 2011 at 11:29am; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, site of unmanned civilian and military space launches...
-based district, incumbent Republican Congressman Dave Weldon
Dave Weldon
David Joseph Weldon, is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing .-Early life:...
sought election to a seventh term in Congress. This district, though undoubtedly conservative, gave Weldon a smaller margin of victory over Democratic nominee Robert Bowman in 2006 than in previous years, likely due to the anti-Republican sentiment nationwide.
District 16
Incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Foley
Mark Foley
Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....
was considered to be a shoo-in for re-election until the House page scandal
Mark Foley scandal
The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006, centers on soliciting e-mails and sexually suggestive instant messages sent by Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, to teenaged boys who had formerly served as congressional pages...
involving Foley became public knowledge. The Congressman resigned on September 29, 2006, thus cancelling his re-election bid. The Republican Party of Florida
Republican Party of Florida
The Republican Party of Florida is the official organization for Republicans in the state of Florida.-History:Florida politics was largely dominated by the Democrats until Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy, which took advantage of white objections to the advances of the American Civil Rights...
selected Florida State Representative
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
Joe Negron
Joe Negron
Joe Negron is the senator for Florida's state senate district 28. He is also a former member of the Florida House of Representatives who served from 2000 to 2006. He represented District 82, serving Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee...
to replace Foley, though Foley's name remained on the ballot. Though Negron launched a successful campaign to urge voters to "Punch Foley for Joe!", indicating that voters should "punch" Foley's name on the ballot to vote for Negron, he was ultimately unsuccessful on election day and fell to Democratic nominee and businessman Tim Mahoney
Tim Mahoney
Timothy Edward "Tim" Mahoney was a U.S. Representative for and a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected in November 2006 after his opponent, six-term Republican incumbent Mark Foley, resigned on September 29, 2006, after questions were raised about an email exchange with a congressional...
.
District 17
This majority African-American district based in southern Broward County and eastern Miami-Dade County has a very strong Democratic tilt and has been represented by Congressman Kendrick Meek
Kendrick Meek
Kendrick Brett Meek is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for from 2003 to 2011. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2010 Senate election for the seat of Mel Martinez, but he lost in a three way race to Republican Marco Rubio along with Independent Charlie Crist.-Early life,...
since his initial election in 2002 and was previously represented by Meek's mother, Carrie Meek, for ten years. Meek was overwhelmingly elected to a third term with no Republican or independent challenger.
District 18
Incumbent Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. She is a member of the Republican Party....
, a respected member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, represents a marginally conservative district that encompasses much of Miami, the southern suburbs of Miami, and the entire Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. Seeking a tenth term in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen easily defeated Democratic nominee Dave Patlak in the general election.
District 21
Incumbent Republican Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart was the U.S. Representative for from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
decided to run for an eighth term in Congress in this district composed of the western suburbs of Miami. Conservative due to the large presence of Cuban-Americans here, this district is a Hispanic-American majority district and has regularly sent Congressman Diaz-Balart back to Washington with solid victories. 2006 proved to be no different, and Diaz-Balart defeated Frank Gonzalez, though by a thinner margin than is usually achieved in this district.
District 22
This district, which stretches from northern Broward County to northern Palm Beach County, marginally leads towards the Democratic side, but incumbent Republican Congressman Clay Shaw
Clay Shaw
Clay Laverne Shaw was a businessman in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the only person prosecuted in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and was found not guilty.-Biography:...
's pragmatic and moderate profile in Congress enabled him to continually be re-elected. This year, however, Shaw faced difficulty in his bid for a fourteenth term. Florida State Senator Ron Klein
Ron Klein
Ronald "Ron" Klein is a lawyer and former member of the United States House of Representatives for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He is currently employed by the law firm Holland & Knight.-Early life,...
, previously the Democratic leader in the Senate, ultimately defeated Shaw in the general election by a thin three-point margin.
District 24
Incumbent Republican Congressman Tom Feeney
Tom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
, initially elected in 2002 and re-elected unopposed in 2004 in this hand-crafted, gerrymandered district, hardly faced a challenge from Democratic candidate Clint Curtis
Clint Curtis
Clinton Eugene "Clint" Curtis is a United States computer programmer and ex employee of NASA and ExxonMobil, currently living in Northern California, who worked for Yang Enterprises in Oviedo, Florida until February 2001...
. Feeney, however, was marred by allegations of corruption brought about by Curtis, a computer programmer who claimed that Feeney asked Curtis to create a software to "steal" votes using touch-screen voting machines. Feeney treated Curtis like a gadfly, sending out mailers featuring Curtis with a tin-foil hat
Tin-foil hat
A tin foil hat is a piece of headgear made from one or more sheets of aluminum foil or similar material. Alternatively it may be a conventional hat lined with foil...
and refusing to debate him. Polling, however, indicated that the race was tight, with a Zogby
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
poll showing Feeney at a 45% level of support and Curtis attaining 43%. Ultimately, though, on election day, Feeney swamped Curtis, winning all four counties in the district. The surprisingly close race, however, indicated that Feeney could be brought down with a serious challenger.
District 25
This district, with a Hispanic-American majority and based in South Florida, has the tendency to support Republican candidates. Incumbent Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart
Mario Diaz-Balart
Mario Rafael Diaz-Balart Caballero is the current U.S. Representative for , serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2010 to succeed his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart. The district includes the city of Hialeah, along with several of Miami's southwestern suburbs...
has represented the district since its creation in 2003 and had not faced a close call so far in his career. In 2006, however, though Diaz-Balart defeated Democratic opponent Michael Calderin by a solid margin, it was a thinner margin than usual.
See also
- Florida statewide elections, 2006Florida statewide elections, 2006Florida held various statewide elections on November 7, 2006.-Candidates:Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Incumbents appear in bold...
- United States House elections, 2006 complete listUnited States House elections, 2006 complete listElections to the United States House of Representatives for the 110th Congress were held on November 7, 2006. The House of Representatives has 435 seats. In the 109th Congress, Republicans held 229 seats, Democrats held 201, with one independent...