United States Senate election in Maine, 2006
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The 2006 U.S. Senate election for the state of Maine was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Senator Olympia Snowe sought re-election to a third term and won it handily over Democrat Jean Hay Bright, with more than 70% of the vote. Concurrent Senate elections were held in 32 other U.S. states.
Snowe, who had been elected to both of her previous terms by approximately 2 to 1 margins, had never lost an election. Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Jean Hay Bright, had never been elected to political office; Snowe was expected to be easily re-elected.
Democrats' best hope for taking the seat was that Snowe would retire rather than run in 2006, but there was never any indication that Snowe seriously considered not running for re-election. [1].
The filing deadline for major party candidates was March 15, 2006. The primary was held on June 13, 2006. Olympia Snowe was unopposed for the Republican nomination; Jean Hay Bright narrowly won the Democratic nod with 50.7% of the vote against Eric Mehnert.
The race had been called by FOX News for the Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe 23 minutes after the closing of the polls, based largely upon Hay Bright's poor performance against the popular Snowe. Snowe won re-election by a greater margin than any U.S. Senator that cycle save Indiana's Richard Lugar, who faced only a Libertarian opponent.
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[edit] Candidates
[edit] Republican Party
- Olympia Snowe, the winner and incumbent Senator first elected in 1994 and previously a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
[edit] Democratic Party
- Jean Hay Bright announced her candidacy in May 2005. Well-known in Maine for her decades of political activism, Hay Bright was previously an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination to the House in 1994 and the Senate in 1996. A writer and former investigative reporter with three books and hundreds of published columns under her belt, she is an outspoken pro-choice, anti-war, pro-labor, pro-environment candidate.
A former board member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Hay Bright owns and operates a commercial organic farm with her husband David Bright in Dixmont, Maine. She was a founding member of the Maine Progressive Caucus in 2004, and was on the original Board of Stewards for the Good Life Center, the last homestead of authors Helen and Scott Nearing in Harborside, Maine, serving from 1995 to 2003.
[edit] Lost in primary
- Eric Mehnert, an attorney with a legal practice in Bangor, Maine announced his candidacy in October 2005. His platform included: Initiating policies that strengthen and protect the employees and owners of small business while fighting excesses of corporate greed, such as exporting jobs overseas; continued learning opportunities and training programs for all Maine citizens, especially those displaced or just returning to the workforce; protecting the coastline and preserving working waterfronts; extending access to health care and prescription drugs, particularly for low income seniors and families; providing education from Head Start through college that prepares children to compete in the Information Age; developing a progressive environmental program insuring access to natural resources for all Maine's citizens, and at the same time ensuring maintaining the proper balance for all the forest users from the lumber industry to the environmentalists and the sports men and women who enjoy this priceless asset; Fighting for Civil Rights so that no person or population is disenfranchised; commitment to a strong defense policy, and maintaining the strength of the armed forces, while ensuring that troops are deployed only for legitimate national security and humanitarian issues, with actions which have a clearly defined mission, attainable military objective, and exit strategy; and exploring both renewable and alternative sources of energy.
[edit] Independent
Bill Slavick (b. 1928) is a peace activist who ran for the U.S. Senate in the state of Maine as an independent in the 2006 election against Republican Olympia Snowe. He came in third place, receiving 5.2% of the vote, while Snowe was reelected by a wide margin.
[edit] Background
Bill Slavic was born in Tennessee, and grew up during the Great Depression. After high school, Slavick was a Memphis Commercial Appeal sportswriter. He served in the U.S. Army. In graduate school, he wrote for the South Bend, Indiana, Democratic weekly. After retirement, he operated Pilgrimage Interfaith Bookstore, then assisted in construction of a Sebago Lake family vacation house.
His wife, Ursula, served as Portland Teachers’ Association president. Both are active in Sacred Heart/St. Dominic parish as Council members and leaders of the Haiti project. They have six living children and nine grandchildren. They reside in Portland.
Slavick has published hundreds of articles and numerous letters on social justice and peace subjects in state and national publications. His scholarly writing focuses on modern Southern fiction.
In academé, Slavick contributed significantly to faculty shared governance, originated the USM honors program, chaired faculty bodies including the Maine Association of University Professors Conference, led in initiating faculty collective bargaining, and organized academic and peace conferences. He served on the board of Citizens for Educational Freedom.
[edit] Education
He earned three degrees at Notre Dame and taught at Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, Louisiana State University, SUNY Geneseo, Marquette, Mount. St. Paul, and the University of Southern Maine (1970 - 1995). He was a Fulbright lecturer in West Germany in 1977.
[edit] Politics and activism
Slavick has been involved in religious and secular efforts to advance several generally progressive causes, mostly causes opposed to American foreign policy. Slavick served for 19 years as coordinator of Pax Christi Maine, the Catholic and ecumenical peace movement. He has been a spokesperson for the Maine Fair Trade Coalition and is a founding member of Maine Haiti Solidarity and Maine Peace and Justice in Israel/ Palestine. In Catholic Organizations for Renewal, he is a voice for church reform and lay responsibility, especially regarding social justice and peace issues. He is an active member of Veterans for Peace. He was 1996 recipient of the Amnesty International Chapter 174 Human Rights Activist Award.
[edit] Controversy
Slavick's statements on the Middle East, specifically those regarding Israel, have often created controversy for being unfairly critical of the country. Slavick has periodically contributed guest columns to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
[edit] Opinion polls
| Source | Date | Snowe (R) | Hay Bright (D) | Slavick (I) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Insights | October 27, 2006 | 74% | 14% | 6% |
| Rasmussen | October 17, 2006 | 70% | 24% | |
| Rasmussen | August 21, 2006 | 68% | 20% | |
| Rasmussen | August 2, 2006 | 69% | 22% | |
| Rasmussen | June 22, 2006 | 66% | 26% |
[edit] Election results
| 2006 United States Senate election, Maine | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 398,723 | 74.4 | +5.5 | |
| Democratic | Jean Hay Bright | 109,727 | 20.5 | -10.6 | |
| Independent | Bill Slavick | 27,819 | 5.2 | n/a | |
| Majority | 288,996 | 53.9 | |||
| Turnout | 536,269 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Snowe won in all of Maine's counties, taking at least 60% of the vote in each region.
[edit] External links
- Snowe's official Senate site
- Snowe's campaign site
- Hay Bright's campaign site
- Mehnert's campaign site
- Slavick's campaign site
- Slavick's campaign website
| Preceded by 2002 Susan Collins |
Maine U.S. Senate elections 2006 |
Succeeded by 2008 |
