| Parliament name |
Congress |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Representatives
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 November 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for one-third of the seats of the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Mid-term elections were held on 7 November 2006 for all seats in the House of Representatives and one third of the seats in the Senate.
After the last elections, in 2004, the Republicans controlled both Houses, with 232 seats to 202 over their Democrat rivals in the House and 55 to 44 in the Senate. The remaining seats were held by independents.
The 2006 elections took place against a backdrop of mounting dissatisfaction over US strategy in Iraq, where no end to the violence seemed to be in sight. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (Dem.) called American policy in Iraq "a dismal failure" and urged a "new direction". The Democrats also focused on the economy, pledging to raise the minimum wage, introduce tax cuts for middle-income earners and improve education and health care. They promised to tighten Congressional rules on ethics in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals involving politicians and lobbyists. Vice-President Richard Cheney argued that increasing the minimum wage would damage the US economy and result in higher taxes.
A CNN exit poll indicated that 56 percent of voters disapproved of the war in Iraq and 57 percent were dissatisfied with the way President Bush was handling his job. The exit poll also suggested that support for Republicans among core voters such as evangelical Christians was lower than usual.
The final results gave the Democrats control of Congress for the first time since 1994. The party won 233 seats in the House of Representatives while the Republicans took 202. Run-off elections for two closely fought seats in the House were held in December, and both were won by Democrats. In the Senate, the Democrats won 22 of the 33 seats up for election, bringing their number of seats to 49. The Republicans won nine seats in the Senate, for a total of 49 in all. With the support of two independents, the Democrats secured a narrow majority in the Senate.
The number of women in Congress reached a record high: 71 in the House of Representatives, up from 62, and 16 in the Senate, of whom eight were elected in 2006.
The newly elected Congress held its first session on 4 January 2007. Ms. Nancy Pelosi (Dem.) became the first woman to assume the post of House Speaker. Mr. Robert Byrd (Dem.) became the President pro tempore of the Senate. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 November 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
172'805'006
82'121'411 (47.52%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Democratic Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Republican Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Seats 2006 |
Gain/Loss Total |
|
|
| Democratic Party |
49
|
22 |
5 |
|
|
| Republican Party |
49
|
9 |
-6 |
|
|
| Independents |
2
|
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
25
8
24.24%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source: http://www.eac.gov/clearinghouse/docs/eds-2006/edsr-final-adopted-version.pdf/attachment_download/file
Note on the "Distribution of seats according to sex":
The "Distribution of seats according to sex" below shows the breakdown for the MPs elected in 2006: 8 women of 33 members, or 24.24%. After the 2006 elections, there were 16 women in all out of 100 members, or 16.00% (Senate, Senate Historical Office, 28.11.2006).
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A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page