2006 United States Senate election in Florida

The 2006 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson won re-election to a second term.

Background
During the Terri Schiavo case in March 2005, a talking points memo on the controversy was written by Brian Darling, the legal counsel to Republican Senator Mel Martínez of Florida. The memo suggested the Schiavo case offered "a great political issue" that would appeal to the party's base (core supporters) and could be used against Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida who was up for reelection in 2006, because he had refused to co-sponsor the bill which came to be known as the Palm Sunday Compromise. Bill Nelson was nevertheless reelected as Senator on November 7, 2006 with 60% of the vote.

Candidates

 * LeRoy Collins Jr., retired naval officer and son of former Governor LeRoy Collins
 * Katherine Harris, U.S. Representative and former Florida Secretary of State
 * Will McBride, attorney
 * Peter Monroe, businessman and former COO of the Federal Housing Administration

Endorsements

 * The Bradenton Herald: McBride
 * Florida (Jacksonville) Times-Union: Collins or Monroe
 * Gainesville Sun: Collins
 * Lakeland Ledger: Collins
 * Miami Herald: Collins
 * Naples Daily News: Collins
 * Orlando Sentinel: McBride
 * Palm Beach Post: Monroe
 * Sarasota Herald-Tribune: no endorsement
 * South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun Sentinel: Monroe
 * St. Petersburg Times: Collins
 * Tampa Tribune: Collins

Polling
[[File:2006_US_Senate_Republican_Primary_in_Florida_by_county.svg|thumb|Republican Primary results by county{{legend|#ed8783|Harris}}

{{legend|#fbdedd|30–40%}}

{{legend|#f1b4b2|40–50%}}

{{legend|#ed8783|50–60%}}

{{legend|#e55651|60–70%}}

{{legend|#d02923|70–80%}}{{legend|#dc8c53|McBride}}

{{legend|#f9dfcb|30–40%}}]]

Candidates

 * Floyd Ray Frazier (Independent)
 * Katherine Harris, former Florida Secretary of State and former U.S. Representative (Republican)
 * Brian Moore, retired health care executive and former congressional candidate (Independent)
 * Bill Nelson, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic)
 * Belinda Noah (Independent)
 * Roy Tanner (Independent)

Campaign
The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which monitors political corruption, complained to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) in October 2006 that the Bacardi beverage company had illegally used corporate resources in support of a fundraising event for Nelson in 2005. CREW had previously filed a similar complaint concerning a Bacardi fundraising event for Republican Senator Mel Martinez, an event that raised as much as $60,000 for Martinez's campaign. The amended complaint alleged that, on both occasions, Bacardi violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations by soliciting contributions from a list of the corporation's vendors.

Endorsements
In a rare move, all twenty-two of Florida's daily newspapers supported Nelson, while none supported Harris in the general election.
 * Bradenton Herald: Bill Nelson
 * Charlotte Sun-Herald: Bill Nelson
 * Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bill Nelson
 * Florida Times-Union: Bill Nelson
 * Fort Myers News-Press: Bill Nelson
 * Gainesville Sun: Bill Nelson
 * Lakeland Ledger: Bill Nelson
 * Miami Herald: Bill Nelson
 * Naples Daily News: Bill Nelson
 * Orlando Sentinel: Bill Nelson
 * Palm Beach Post: Bill Nelson
 * Pensacola News Journal: Bill Nelson
 * Saint Petersburg Times: Bill Nelson
 * Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bill Nelson
 * Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers: Bill Nelson
 * South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Bill Nelson
 * Tallahassee Democrat: Bill Nelson
 * Tampa Tribune: Bill Nelson

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 23, 2006
 * Complete video of debate, November 1, 2006

Polling

 * Graphical summary

Results
As expected, Nelson was easily reelected. He won with 60.3% of the vote winning by 1,064,421 votes or 22.2%, and carried 57 of Florida's 67 counties. Nelson was projected the winner right when the polls closed at 7 P.M. EST.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Gilchrist (Largest city: Trenton)
 * Sumter (Largest city: The Villages)
 * Bradford (Largest city: Starke)
 * Charlotte (Largest city: Charlotte)
 * Columbia (Largest city: Lake City)
 * DeSoto (Largest city: Arcadia)
 * Escambia (Largest city: Pensacola)
 * Hardee (Largest city: Wachula)
 * Highlands (Largest city: Sebring)
 * Indian River (Largest city: Sebastian)
 * Lake (Largest city: Clermont)
 * Lee (Largest city: Cape Coral)
 * Suwannee (Largest city: Live Oak)
 * Duval (largest municipality: Jacksonville)
 * Seminole (largest municipality: Sanford)
 * Hendry (Largest city: Clewiston)
 * Marion (Largest city: Ocala)