2006 Minnesota's 5th congressional district election

2006 Minnesota's 5th congressional district election

← 2004 November 7, 2006 2008 →

Nominee Keith Ellison Alan Fine Tammy Lee Party Democratic Republican Independence Popular vote 136,060 52,263 51,456 Percentage 55.6% 21.3% 21.0%

U.S. Representative before election Martin Olav Sabo Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Keith Ellison Democratic

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v t e

The 2006 Minnesota's 5th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Martin Olav Sabo (DFL), who retired after serving the Minneapolis-based district for 28 years.

Sabo, who had rarely faced a serious electoral challenge, won reelection with 70% of the vote in 2004 in a district that went for John Kerry by 71% in the presidential election. The seat had elected candidates of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) since 1962 and was rated "Safe Democratic" by CQ Politics.

Sabo's surprising announcement in March 2006 prompted many area Democrats to enter the race. While state representative Keith Ellison received the party's endorsement, he was not backed by Sabo and faced stiff primary competition from former Sabo aide Mike Erlandson, among others. Having won the primary, Ellison handily defeated Republican nominee, business consultant Alan Fine, and the Independence nominee, businesswoman Tammy Lee, in the general election.