# 2006 United States Senate election in Wyoming

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The 2006 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held November 7, 2006. The primaries were on August 22, 2006, in which both incumbent Republican Craig Thomas and his Democratic challenger were unopposed. Thomas won re-election to a third term, but died of leukemia on June 4, 2007; fellow Republican John Barrasso was subsequently appointed and has held the seat since.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Dale Groutage, engineer

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Dale Groutage | 24,924 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 24,924 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Craig Thomas, incumbent U.S. Senator

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Craig Thomas (incumbent) | 78,211 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 78,211 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* Dale Groutage (D), engineer
* Craig Thomas (R), incumbent U.S. Senator

### Campaign

Thomas was a very popular two term incumbent, having a 68% approval rating. Despite doing very well in the polls, Thomas agreed to a debate. An October debate was sponsored by the Casper Star-Tribune and KCWY in Casper. Thomas said the nation has made progress in its energy policy, while Groutage said the nation's energy policy has failed because Congress has done more for special interests than the people.

### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 22, 2006

### 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 | Thomas (R) | Groutage (D) |
| Rasmussen | May 8, 2006 | 64% | 25% |
| Rasmussen | July 20, 2006 | 59% | 32% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 16, 2006 | 67% | 26% |
| Aspen Media & Market Research | October 18, 2006 | 70% | 22% |

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Craig L. Thomas (incumbent) | 135,174 | 69.99% | −3.78% |
| | Democratic | Dale Groutage | 57,671 | 29.86% | +7.82% |
| | | Write-ins | 291 | 0.15% | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77,503 | 40.13% | −11.61% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 193,136 | | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |
Thomas won at least 56% of the vote in every county in Wyoming.