# 2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii

Elections in Hawaii :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1959
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1990
1990 sp
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2014 sp
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1959
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1st sp
1988
1990
2nd sp
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2nd sp
2003 (2nd sp)
2004
2006
2008
2010
1st sp
2012
2014
2016
1st sp
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026 :
State government
Gubernatorial elections
1959
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Senate elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Hawaiian Kingdom era
House of Representatives
1884
1886 :
Ballot measures
1998
Amendment 2
2024
Amendment 1 :
Honolulu
Mayoral elections
2008
2010 sp
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
vte :
The 2006 United States Senate election in Hawaii was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Daniel Akaka won re-election to a third full term.

## Democratic primary

Source:

### Candidates

* Daniel Akaka, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Ed Case, U.S. Representative

### Campaign

Case had stated that although he has the deepest respect for Daniel Akaka, Hawaii is in a time of transition with regard to the state's representation in Congress which requires that the state phase in the next generation to provide continuity in that service. He had warned the state would lose all clout in Washington if the state's two US Senators (the other being Daniel Inouye), both of whom are over 80 years old, leave office within a short time of each other. If a Senator were to die, Hawaii election law requires that the governor appoint a replacement of the same party. Case's words would prove prescient, as Akaka would retire just over two weeks after Inouye's death in 2012.
Hawaii's other members of Congress, Inouye and Rep. Neil Abercrombie, pledged their support to Akaka.

### Debates

* Complete video of debate, August 31, 2006

### Polling

| Source | Date | Daniel Akaka | Ed Case |
| QMark Research & Polling | May 15, 2006 | 40% | 38% |
| Honolulu Advertiser/Ward Research | July 2, 2006 | 51% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | August 11, 2006 | 47% | 45% |
| Honolulu Advertiser/Ward Research | September 17, 2006 | 51% | 38% |

### Endorsements
#### Organizations

* Council for a Livable World

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Daniel Akaka (incumbent) | 129,158 | 54.65% |
| | Democratic | Ed Case | 107,163 | 45.35% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 236,321 | 100% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Mark Beatty, attorney and businessman
* Jerry Coffee, retired Navy captain, Vietnam War POW, and motivational speaker (withdrew from the race before the Republican primary but his name still appeared on the ballot)
* Charles "Akacase" Collins
* Jay Friedheim, attorney and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2004
* Eddie Pirkowski, businessman
* Steve Tataii, conflict resolution teacher and author

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jerry Coffee | 10,139 | 41.01 |
| | Republican | Mark Beatty | 6,057 | 24.50 |
| | Republican | Akacase Collins | 3,146 | 12.72 |
| | Republican | Jay Friedheim | 2,299 | 9.30 |
| | Republican | Steve Tataii | 1,601 | 6.48 |
| | Republican | Eddie Pirkowski | 1,482 | 5.99 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 24,724 | 100 |
Hawaii State Representative Cynthia Thielen was selected to be the Republican nominee after Jerry Coffee, who had previously withdrawn his candidacy, won the primary.

## General election
### Candidates

* Daniel Akaka (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Cynthia Thielen (R), Hawaii State Representative
* Lloyd Mallan (L), perennial candidate

### Predictions

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

### Polling

| Source | Date | Daniel Akaka (D) | Cynthia Thielen (R) |
| Rasmussen | August 11, 2006 | 58% | 30% |

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Daniel Akaka (incumbent) | 210,330 | 61.35% | −11.5% |
| | Republican | Cynthia Thielen | 126,097 | 36.78% | +12.3% |
| | Libertarian | Lloyd Mallan | 6,415 | 1.87% | +1.0% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 84,233 | 24.57% | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 342,842 | | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |
Akaka won in all 4 Hawaii counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each area.