2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee

2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee

← 2000 November 7, 2006 2012 →
Turnout49.97% Decrease[1] 13.06 pp
 
Nominee Bob Corker Harold Ford Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 929,911 879,976
Percentage 50.71% 47.99%

Corker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Ford:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%

U.S. senator before election

Bill Frist
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Bob Corker
Republican

The 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Senator Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, retired after two terms in office. The open seat was won by Republican nominee Bob Corker, who defeated Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.

The race between Ford and Corker was one of the most competitive Senate races of 2006, with Corker winning the race by less than three percent of the vote. Corker was the only non-incumbent Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in 2006. Since 1995, the Republican Party has held both of Tennessee's U.S. Senate seats.

Since this election (along with the gubernatorial election held the same day), only seven of the state's 95 counties–Davidson, Shelby, Haywood, Hardeman, Houston, Jackson, and Lake–have gone to the Democratic candidate in a statewide election, with Jackson and Lake only going Democratic once. Only five counties have voted for a Democratic candidate in a Presidential, Senate, or gubernatorial race multiple times since 2006. Only three–Davidson, Shelby, and Haywood–have voted Democratic in a Senate race since 2006.

The election marks the last very competitive statewide election in Tennessee history, as the Republican Party has gained intense strength in both Tennessee and predominantly white, rural Southeast regions that were usually Democratic-leaning outside of presidential elections.

  1. ^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2006". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 7, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2023.