2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

November 7, 2006

Nominee Ted Kennedy Kenneth Chase Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,500,738 661,532 Percentage 69.30% 30.55%

County results Municipality results Precinct results Kennedy:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Chase:      50–60%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Ted Kennedy Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Democratic

The 2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Ted Kennedy won re-election to his ninth (his eighth full) term. This would be Kennedy's last election to the Senate; he died three years later of brain cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2008. Senator Kennedy was the fourth longest-serving Senator in U.S. history, having served for nearly 47 years.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Kenneth Chase, language school owner and activist
• Kevin Scott, businessman and former Wakefield Selectman

Campaign

At the Massachusetts Republican Party Convention^[1] Kenneth Chase received the official endorsement with a majority of delegates, though both candidates qualified for the September primary. Former White House Chief-of-Staff Andrew Card also received 3 votes.^[2]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth Chase	35,497	50.94%
	Republican	Kevin Scott	34,179	49.05%
Total votes			69,676	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Ted Kennedy (D), incumbent U.S. Senator since 1962
• Kenneth Chase (R), language school owner and Republican activist

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[4]	Solid D	November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[6]	Safe D	November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[7]	Safe D	November 6, 2006

Polling

Source	Date	MoE	Ted Kennedy (D)	Kenneth Chase (R)	Undecided
Suffolk University[8]	October 20–23, 2006	±4.9%	60%	26%	14%
Boston Globe[9]	October 22–25, 2006	±4.1%	66%	25%	6%

Results

Kennedy won every county in the state, winning at least 60% in each county.^[10] Kennedy served his ninth, and final, term until his death on August 25, 2009 (here, the completion of John F. Kennedy's unexpired term is considered to be Ted Kennedy's first term).

General election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ted Kennedy (incumbent)	1,500,738	69.30	−3.39
	Republican	Kenneth Chase	661,532	30.55	+17.7
Majority			839,206	38.75
Turnout			2,165,490
	Democratic hold		Swing	20.8

Results by county

2006 United States Senate election in Massachusetts (by county)[10]
County	Kennedy - D %	Kennedy - D #	Chase - R %	Chase - R #	Others %	Others #	Total #
Barnstable	60.2%	63,412	37.4%	39,471	2.4%	2,517	105,400
Berkshire	77.3%	36,135	20.1%	9,382	2.6%	1,231	46,748
Bristol	68.0%	115,125	28.5%	48,204	3.6%	6,050	169,379
Dukes	74.5%	5,735	22.5%	1,734	3.0%	230	7,699
Essex	63.7%	166,003	32.3%	84,150	4.0%	10,335	260,488
Franklin	74.7%	21,517	22.8%	6,570	2.5%	715	28,802
Hampden	63.8%	87,430	32.1%	44,040	4.1%	5,575	137,045
Hampshire	73.7%	41,867	23.7%	13,496	2.6%	1,476	56,839
Middlesex	68.7%	369,685	27.9%	150,257	3.4%	18,502	538,444
Nantucket	68.4%	2,759	29.1%	1,172	2.5%	101	4,032
Norfolk	66.0%	172,766	30.2%	79,087	3.7%	9,793	261,646
Plymouth	60.6%	111,198	36.3%	66,574	301%	5,735	183,507
Suffolk	78.3%	142,018	15.9%	28,753	5.8%	10,494	181,265
Worcester	62.8%	165,088	33.8%	88,942	3.4%	8,811	262,841

See also

• 2006 United States Senate elections

References

1. "2006 Massachusetts GOP State Convention". Archived from the original on April 18, 2006. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
2. "Hub Politics: Lowell 2006". Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2006.
3. Massachusetts primary results Boston.com, last updated 11:04 AM, September 20, 2006
4. "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.
5. "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
6. "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
7. "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
8. Suffolk University Archived March 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
9. Boston Globe
10. "Elections". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
11. 2006 General Election Results - US Senate Boston.com as of 2:47 PM EST November 8, 2006

External links

• Ted Kennedy official campaign site
• Kevin Scott official campaign site