2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

The 2006 United States House of Representatives Elections in Florida took place on November 7, 2006. Elections were held in Florida's 1st through 25th congressional districts.

Florida is known to be a moderate-to-conservative state, with more liberals residing in South Florida, and moderates and conservatives dominating both the northern and central regions of Florida, as well as a strong Republican base in Cuban-American portions of Miami. Katherine Harris, a former Florida Secretary of State made famous in the 2000 presidential election, challenged incumbent senator Bill Nelson, and ended up losing to Nelson. Democrats set their sights on two districts in the Sarasota and Tampa area (the open seats of both Harris and the retiring Mike Bilirakis, respectively), and also on a South Florida district held by one of the Sunshine State's longest-serving congressmen.

The primary was held on September 5, 2006. The popularity of outgoing governor Jeb Bush aided their gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Charlie Crist and helped Republicans win downballot, including Crist's newly elected successor at the Attorney General position, former Rep. Bill McCollum.

Overview United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2006PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/– Republican 2,182,833 56.67% 16 -2 Democratic 1,599,968 41.54% 9 +2 Independents 69,141 1.79% 0 — Totals 3,851,942 100.00% 25 —

District 1

Three-term Republican incumbent congressman Jeff Miller had an easy time seeking re-election in this conservative district based in the Florida Panhandle. Miller, who was initially elected in a special election in 2001 to replace Joe Scarborough, took advantage of this district's large military population based around the Naval Air Station Pensacola with his membership on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and the naturally conservative tendencies of western Florida to defeat Democratic challenger Joe Roberts easily.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 6, 2006 Rothenberg November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2006 Real Clear Politics November 7, 2006 CQ Politics November 7, 2006

District 2 Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 6, 2006 Rothenberg November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2006 Real Clear Politics November 7, 2006 CQ Politics November 7, 2006

District 3 Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report November 6, 2006 Rothenberg November 6, 2006 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 6, 2006 Real Clear Politics November 7, 2006 CQ Politics November 7, 2006

District 4

Incumbent Republican congressman Ander Crenshaw represented this North Florida and Jacksonville-based district since 2001.Crenshaw was re-elected with nearly 70% of the vote.

District 5

Incumbent Republican congressman Ginny Brown-Waite faced challenger John Russell. She was re-elected to a third term with nearly 60% of the vote.

District 6

Encompassing North Central Florida, this conservative district is represented by nine-term incumbent Republican congressman Cliff Stearns. Stearns, seeking a tenth term, faced off against Democratic candidate David Bruderly. Though Stearns defeated Bruderly by a wide margin, it was not the margin of victory that Stearns is used to in this gerrymandered district.

District 7

Incumbent Republican congressman John Mica, initially elected in 1992, sought his eighth term in this conservative district that stretches along the coast of Florida from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach and peeks into the Orlando Metropolitan Area. Mica defeated Democratic candidate John Chagnon in a landslide.

District 8

Republican congressman Ric Keller, seeking a fourth term in this moderately conservative, Central Florida-based district, faced off against businessman Charlie Stuart, a moderate Democrat. Though Keller held onto his seat in the midst of a Democratic wave that was sweeping the country, he won by only a few points.

Democratic primary Alan Grayson, war contractor attorney Homer Hartage, Orange County Commissioner Charlie Stuart, businessman

Republican primary Elizabeth Doran, businesswoman Ric Keller, incumbent U.S. congressman

General election Incumbent Republican congressman Ric Keller, best known for his Cheeseburger Bill, which prevented customers from suing fast food chains for health problems, decided to seek a fourth term in Congress. Charlie Stuart, a marketing consultant, an Orange County, Florida native and member of a prominent Orlando family, was nominated by the Democratic Party to face Keller. Stuart was touted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as a top longshot candidate and received the backing of local figures such as Congressman Allen Boyd, ex-Orlando mayors Glenda Hood and Bill Frederick and present Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer, as well as national ones such as former Virginia governor Mark Warner.

District 9

After serving twelve terms in the United States Congress, Republican incumbent congressman Michael Bilirakis declined to run for re-election. His son, Gus Bilirakis, a member of the Florida House of Representatives emerged as the Republican nominee and squared off against Phyllis Busansky, the Democratic nominee and a former Hillsborough County Commissioner. The district has a tilt towards electing Republicans, so Busansky's campaign was not given much of a chance at first. As the campaign progressed, however, it received national attention from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Though Bilirakis defeated Busansky by a ten-point margin, Busansky's performance was a large improvement over past years and outperformed her expected performance in the polls.

District 10

In this district, which is the only congressional district in the state to lie exclusively in one county, has been represented by incumbent Republican congressman Bill Young for several decades. A former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Young has been overwhelmingly re-elected year after year. In 2006, despite the moderate nature of his district and the acidic environment for Republicans nationwide, Congressman Young swamped Democratic nominee Samm Simpson.

District 11

Rather than seek a sixth term in this liberal district based in Tampa, incumbent Democratic congressman Jim Davis opted to run for Governor, creating an open seat. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor, the daughter of renowned Florida politician Betty Castor, ran for the seat and won the Democratic nomination, defeating Florida State Senate Minority Leader Les Miller. She faced Republican candidate Eddie Adams, an architect, in the general election, which she won by a convincing margin.

District 12

Incumbent Republican congressman Adam Putnam, a member of the Republican leadership in the House, sought and easily won a fourth term in Congress, defeating former State Representative Joe Viscusi and Ed Bowlin, both of whom ran as independents.

District 13

Two-term incumbent Republican congresswoman Katherine Harris opted to run for Senate rather than seek a third term, creating an open seat. The 13th district, based in Southwest Florida, is fairly conservative, but a competitive race emerged between the Republican nominee, car dealership owner Vern Buchanan, and the Democratic nominee, banking executive Christine Jennings. Though Buchanan appeared to be victorious on election day by a 350-vote margin, Jennings requested a recount. Though the recount did not change the outcome of the race, Jennings filed additional complaints due to the fact that 13% of Sarasota County residents did not vote in the Congressional election, an unusually high number and the fact that the touch-screen machines did not provide a paper trail."Another election mess in Florida", The Economist, December 9, 2006

Believing the matter to be unsettled, Jennings sued to challenge the results of the election in court, noting the "pervasive malfunctioning of electronic voting machines." A Florida circuit judge rejected her lawsuit in December 2006, ruling that her allegations of lost votes in Sarasota County were "conjecture." Jennings met further failure in June 2007, when a Florida state appellate court ruled that Jennings did not meet the "extraordinary burden" of proving the lower court judge was wrong.

Though Jennings fought the results further by appealing directly to the United States House of Representatives, this action, too, caused her to walk away empty-handed. After a three-person House task force was created to evaluate the election,Phil Davis, , Associated Press, April 17, 2007 the task force voted along party lines to refer an investigation into Florida's 13th district House race to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).Aaron Blake, "FL-13 task force will turn over investigation to GAO" , The Hill, May 3, 2007

In February 2008, the committee and the House accepted the findings of the GAO that no machine error affected the outcome of the election, going a step further to pass HR 989, which affirmed the findings of the committee, accepted the results of the 2006 race and formally dismissed Jennings' challenge of the election's results. Jennings formally dropped her challenge shortly thereafter to focus on her 2008 rematch against Buchanan.

District 14

After winning his first Congressional election in 2004 to replace Porter Goss, incumbent Republican congressman Connie Mack IV sought a second term in 2006. Mack's district, based in the Gulf Coast region of Florida, is solidly conservative and overwhelmingly gave the congressman a second term over Democratic candidate Robert Neeld.

District 15

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

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