Election Date: November 7, 2006

Abstract: At stake: Congress

At stake: Congress

Background

The United States will renew its legislative branch two years after Republican president George W. Bush was re-elected to a second four-year term. In mid-June, Bush declared, "Listen, the elections are a long way off. What's going to matter is who has got the plan that will enable us to succeed in Iraq and keep the economy growing. And I look forward to the campaign. And I believe we're going to hold the House and the Senate, because our philosophy is one that is forward-looking and optimistic and has worked. We've got a record to run on."

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. More than 1,500 residents died as a result of the storm and its aftermath.

On May 15, 2006, Bush addressed the nation to discuss his immigration proposals. The president outlined five clear objectives: securing the borders, creating a temporary worker program, holding employers to account for the workers they hire, allowing illegal immigrants "who have roots" in the country to apply for citizenship, and helping newcomers assimilate into American society.

On May 25, the U.S. Senate voted 62-36 to pass an immigration reform bill that places illegal immigrants in three different groups depending on the amount of time they have spent in the U.S. The plan favours persons who have lived in the U.S. for more than five years, who would have the option of becoming citizens in six years after paying penalties and back taxes, learning English, and passing a background check. The House of Representatives did not ratify the legislation.

A poll conducted in April 2006 by Opinion Dynamics put Congress' approval rating at 25 per cent. In May, a survey by Zogby International showed that only three per cent of Americans had a high level of confidence in Congress.

In 2004, Republican California congressman Randy Cunningham resigned from his seat after pleading guilty to collecting $2.4 million U.S. in kickbacks in exchange for steering government work to specific defence contractors. The former Navy pilot had served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. In March, Cunningham was sentenced to eight years and four months in jail.

In January, lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges as part of a deal to cooperate with a federal corruption investigation. In March, Abramoff was sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail—the minimum allowed under the plea bargain—and ordered to pay restitution of more than $21 million U.S.

In August 2005, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid on the residence of Democratic Louisiana congressman William Jefferson found $90,000 U.S. "in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminium foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers." According to the affidavit, the money was paid by a company named iGate in return for Jefferson's efforts to influence officials in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria for a potential business deal.

2006 House of Representatives Election

In the November 2004 congressional ballot, the Republican Party received 49.2 per cent of the vote, while the Democratic Party got 46.6 per cent.

In the House of Representatives, the Republicans hold the upper hand with 231 congressmen, while the Democrats control 201 seats. An independent member participates in the Democratic caucus, and two seats—one in New Jersey and another in Texas—are currently vacant. In order to take control of the lower house, the Democrats need to retain all their mandates and defeat the Republicans in 15 districts.

Two incumbents—Georgia's Cynthia McKinney and Michigan's Joe Schwarz—were defeated in their respective primary elections. Democrat Keith Ellison, who is running for a seat in Minnesota, seeks to become the first Muslim in Congress.

The early stages of the political race revolved around the situation in Iraq. On Aug. 24, Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman discussed the issue, saying, "There wasn't a history with Vietnam the way that there is in Iraq, where, when we pulled out of Lebanon and we pulled out of Mogadishu, it was used by (Osama) bin Laden and others to recruit more jihadists and encourage more danger. The fact is, the situation in Iraq is much more critical to American national security, which is why we cannot allow it to fail. We have to win this war."

On Sept. 6, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean expressed his views on Iraq, saying, "The Bush White House and its Republican rubber-stamp Congress have limited our ability to fight and win the war on terror because of our involvement in a civil war in Iraq. For what we spend in one week in Iraq, we could be securing our ports, airports and borders."

On Sept. 29, Republican Florida congressman Mark Foley resigned from the House of Representatives after several suggestive e-mails and text messages he sent to former congressional pages were made public. The legislative branch's Republican leadership called the situation "unacceptable and abhorrent." Foley acted as the co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.

A review of the last seven publicly released voting intention polls placed the Democrats with a double-digit lead in the race for the House of Representatives.

2006 Senate Election

In the upper house, the Republicans have a majority with 55 senators, while the Democrats control 44 seats. A Democratic-leaning independent, Vermont's Jim Jeffords, is retiring. In order to take control of the lower house, the Democrats require a net gain of six seats.

In all, 33 of the 100 upper house seats will be chosen this year. In four states—Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Vermont—incumbents will not be seeking re-election to the Senate. In Connecticut, incumbent Joe Lieberman is running as an independent, after he lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont.

The Republican incumbents are favoured to hold on to their seats in Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

The Democratic incumbents are expected to win in California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The races where incumbents appear to be vulnerable developed in Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Potential presidential candidates who are seeking a new term in the upper house include New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Virginia Republican George Allen.

2006 Gubernatorial Elections

In addition, 36 American states will be holding gubernatorial elections on Nov. 7. In nine states—Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York and Ohio—the incumbents are retiring.

In Alaska, governor Frank Murkowski was defeated in the Republican primary. In Connecticut, Jodi Rell will seek a full term after being appointed to replace John G. Rowland in 2004.

Republican incumbents are seeking a new term in Alabama, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont.

Democratic incumbents are running in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Election Day

Voting took place on Nov. 7. Preliminary results suggest that the Democratic Party will take control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, with at least 232 lawmakers. A victory for the Democratic candidates for the Senate in Montana and Virginia also gave the party a majority in the upper house.

Democratic California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who could become the first female speaker of the House, declared, "Tonight is a great victory for the American people. The American people voted for a new direction."

On Nov. 8, U.S. president George W. Bush discussed the situation, saying, "I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election, and as the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility. (...) The message yesterday was clear: The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our nation."

On Nov. 9, Bush met with Pelosi in the White House. The Democratic congresswoman declared, "I look forward to working in a confidence-building way with the president, recognizing that we have our differences and we will debate them, and that is what our founders intended. But we will do so in a way that gets results for the American people."

Democratic candidates won 20 of the 36 gubernatorial races.

In December, following the outcome of the races that required a run-off, final results gave the Democrats 233 lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

On Jan. 4, 2007, Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House, declaring, "The election of 2006 was a call to change—not merely to change the control of Congress, but for a new direction for our country. Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in the war in Iraq. The American people rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end."

The Democrats have pledged to carry out specific reforms during the first 100 hours of the legislative session, including a raise to the minimum wage, adopting the recommendations of the 9/11 commission, promoting stem cell research and renewable fuels, and enacting limits on lobbying and congressional travel.

Political Players

President: George W. Bush (R)
Vice-president: Dick Cheney (R)

The president and vice-president are elected in a single ticket to a four-year term by an Electoral College, whose members represent each state of the union with a previously determined number of electoral votes, in accordance with the results of the popular vote in each state.

Legislative Branch: The United States Congress has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected to two-year terms in single-seat constituencies. The Senate has 100 members, elected to six-year terms in dual-seat constituencies, with one-third being renewed every two years.

Results of Last Election:

President - Nov. 2, 2004

	Electoral Votes	Popular Vote
George W. Bush - Republican Party	286	51.03%
John Kerry - Democratic Party	251 (*)	48.04%
Ralph Nader - Independent / Reform Party	--	0.34%
Michael Badnarik - Libertarian Party	--	0.32%
Michael Peroutka - Constitution Party	--	0.11%
David Cobb - Green Party	--	0.09%
Leonard Peltier - Peace and Freedom Party of California	--	0.018%
Walt Brown - Socialist Party USA	--	0.008%
James Harris - Alternate - Socialist Workers Party	--	0.005%
Roger Calero - Socialist Workers Party	--	0.004%

(*) An elector from Minnesota cast a vote for Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards in the presidential category.

House of Representatives - Nov. 7, 2006

	Vote%	Seats
Democratic Party	57.7%	233
Republican Party	41.8%	202
Independent	0.1%	--
Other	0.4%	--

Senate - Nov. 7, 2006
(33 seats at stake)

	Vote%	2006 Seats	2006 Strength
Democratic Party	53.7%	22	49
Republican Party	42.6%	9	49
Independent	1.5%	2	2 (*)
Libertarian Party	0.9%	--	--
Other	0.7%	--	--

(*) Two independent senators—Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and Bernard Sanders in Vermont—will caucus with the Democratic Party.

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