# 2006 United States Senate election in Nevada

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None of These Candidates
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vte :
The 2006 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican John Ensign defeated Democratic nominee Jack Carter to win re-election to a second term. This election was the only Senate election in Nevada where the incumbent Republican Senator was re-elected or won re-election since 1980 and the only Senate election in Nevada for this seat where the incumbent Republican Senator was re-elected or won re-election since 1952.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* John Ensign, incumbent U.S. Senator

#### Defeated in primary

* Ed Hamilton, businessman

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Ensign (incumbent) | 127,023 | 90.47 |
| | Republican | None of these candidates | 6,754 | 4.81 |
| | Republican | Ed Hamilton | 6,629 | 4.72 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 140,406 | 100.00 |

## Democratic primary

Popular Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman had said in January 2006 that he would probably run, but decisively ruled out a run in late April. Going into the 2006 cycle, many top Nevada Democrats such as State Assembly speaker Richard Perkins indicated that the party would put more efforts into the gubernatorial election than into defeating Ensign.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Jack Carter, U.S Navy veteran and son of former President Jimmy Carter

#### Defeated in primary

* Ruby Jee Tun, middle school science teacher

#### Declined to run

* Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas
* Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General of Nevada
* Dina Titus, member of the Nevada Senate (ran for Governor)

### Results

Democratic primary vote :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jack Carter | 92,270 | 78.30 |
| | Democratic | None of these candidates | 14,425 | 12.24 |
| | Democratic | Ruby Jee Tun | 11,147 | 9.46 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 117,842 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Jack Carter (D), Navy veteran and son of former President Jimmy Carter
* John Ensign (R), incumbent U.S. Senator
* David Schumann (I), retired financial analyst, 2004 nominee, and 2002 state senator nominee
* Brendan Trainor (L), state party chair, airline quality manager, and frequent candidate

### Campaign

Carter's advantages included his formidable speaking abilities and kinship with a former U.S. president. On the other hand, Ensign was also considered to be an effective speaker and as of the first quarter of 2006, held an approximately 5–1 advantage over Carter in cash-on-hand.

### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 15, 2006

### Endorsements
#### Individuals

* Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe R | November 6, 2006 |

### Polling

| Source | Date | Ensign (R) | Carter (D) |
| Zogby/WSJ | March 31, 2006 | 52% | 38% |
| Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon | April 3–5, 2006 | 60% | 27% |
| Reno Gazette-Journal/News 4 | May 12–15, 2006 | 52% | 32% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 51% | 36% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 50% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | July 31, 2006 | 46% | 39% |
| Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon | August 12, 2006 | 54% | 33% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 48% | 45% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 52% | 40% |
| Reno Gazette-Journal/Research 2000 | September 15, 2006 | 56% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | September 22, 2006 | 50% | 41% |
| Las Vegas Review-Journal/Mason-Dixon | September 26, 2006 | 58% | 35% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 28, 2006 | 49% | 42% |
| Rasmussen | October 17, 2006 | 50% | 42% |
| Zogby/WSJ | October 19, 2006 | 52% | 43% |
| Reno Gazette-Journal/Research 2000 | October 29, 2006 | 55% | 41% |

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | John Ensign (incumbent) | 322,501 | 55.36% | +0.27% |
| | Democratic | Jack Carter | 238,796 | 40.99% | +1.30% |
| | None of These Candidates | None of These Candidates | 8,232 | 1.41% | -0.50% |
| | Independent American | David K. Schumann | 7,774 | 1.33% | +0.91% |
| | Libertarian | Brendan Trainor | 5,269 | 0.90% | +0.01% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 83,705 | 14.37% | −1.03% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 582,572 | | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |
Ensign won a majority of the votes in every county in the state, with his lowest percentage at 53%.