2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee
November 7, 2006
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| Turnout | 49.97% 13.06 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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Corker: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
80–90% Ford: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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| Government |
The 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Senator Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, retired after two terms in office. The open seat was won by Republican nominee Bob Corker, who defeated Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.
The race between Ford and Corker was one of the most competitive Senate races of 2006, with Corker winning the race by less than three percent of the vote. Corker was the only non-incumbent Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in 2006. Since 1995, the Republican Party has held both of Tennessee's U.S. Senate seats.
This was the most recent Tennessee statewide election decided by a single-digit margin, as the Republican Party has gained intense strength since 2006, as in other predominantly white, rural Southeast regions. Since 2006, only seven of Tennessee's 95 counties (Davidson, Shelby, Haywood, Hardeman, Houston, Jackson, and Lake) have voted for the Democratic candidate in any statewide election, with Jackson and Lake only voting Democratic once. Only three of these (Davidson, Shelby, and Haywood) have voted Democratic in a Senate race since 2006.